The One Where Jackie Moves In
by Floweerchild96
Summary: Set in early season 6. Jackie has been living in New-York with her family but after her father goes to jail and her mother abandons her, she is forced to return to a town she thought she was done with for good. How will Jackie's reemergence in the basement effect the gangs lives?
1. Going through changes

**Just one of the silly little stories I've thought up and decided to actually post. Set at the start of season 6 except with one pretty major difference. What if Jackie moved away with her family at a young age and wasn't reintroduced into the gang until later in life? What would change and what would remain the same?**  
**Forewarning, Jackie is slightly OOC in this fic! She grew up in a different place with different friends so she's not exactly the Jackie we're used too but don't worry it's not a huge difference (at least I don't think it is).**  
**Anyway, this is JH story first and foremost but the gang all have their own little stories as well. It probably wont end up full of drama or anything, just pretty light-hearted and fun. Not sure how long this will end up being, as i'm not used to actually posting my fanfics, but we'll see how it goes!**

* * *

Chapter 1. 

Manhattan, New-York.  
The Burkhart's.

Jackie Burkhart entered through the doors of her family's town house, located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She had just gotten back from visiting her father in prison for the first time since he had been arrested 2 weeks ago.

"Mom?!" Jackie yelled through the large house, hoping her mother had finally arrived home from her extended trip overseas. When no answer came back, Jackie sighed and entered the living room.

Pam Burkhart had been in Europe since the day Jackie's father had been arrested and Jackie hadn't heard from her since. Sure, her mother normally disappeared for weeks on end to trips overseas with her floozy friends but this time it was different.

Her father, Pam's husband of 20 years, was in prison and he'd be there for the foreseeable future.

Jackie was all alone. She needed her mother to be there for her. Even more, she needed to talk to someone, anyone who could relate to what she was going through.

Since news of her father's incarceration had made the rounds through everyone worth knowing in Manhattan, the Burkhart family had been socially cut off. Not even Jackie's friends, (who she had made when her family moved into the neighborhood 7 years ago) had stuck around to support her.

It just goes to show that everyone they had met in this city, had been completely fake. It didn't upset her as much as she thought it would have, she had learnt that it wasn't worth wasting her time getting upset over people who clearly didn't care about her or her family.

Besides, her father was in prison and her mother was missing in action, she had bigger things to worry about then two-faced pseudo-friends.

She was rummaging through the empty fridge, trying to find something to satisfy her growling stomach, when the phone in the kitchen began ringing.

"Hello?" Jackie answered the phone quickly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. The heel of her shoe tapped impatiently onto the wooden floorboard beneath her feet as she waited for a response.

"Jackie, honey?!" Pam's voice rang through the other end of the line and Jackie smiled widely, glad to finally be hearing from her mother. "Can you hear me?" Pam shouted into the phone

Jackie nodded quickly. "Yes mother I can"

"Oh really? These phones in Paris have the worst possibly connection, I can barely hear you," Pam informed her, it was the first time Jackie had heard anything about her mother's whereabouts since she had left home. It was good to know where Pam had been, but concern raced through her body as she prepared herself for whatever news her mother was about to bring.

"Paris? Mother are you coming home soon? I just visited daddy in prison and it was horrible I really need you to-"

"Oh, honey please stop talking so much there are things we need to discuss and I'm not sure how much time these disgusting street phones give you."

Jackie frowned at the image of her glamorous mother using a public phone in the middle of a Parisian street. "Why are you using a public phone?" Sure, they had lost most of their money, but public phones felt so beneath the Burkhart's.

"Well I couldn't discuss this in front of my friends and I wasn't about to use the hotel phone where anyone could overhear my private business," Pam responded as if it should have been obvious to her daughter.

"Discuss what mother? Are you not coming home?"

Jackie deflated, she had hoped this call from Pam meant that her mother would be returning to deal with all the things Jackie herself had been afraid to deal with on her own. It seemed that this call signified the opposite of her hopes.

"Darling, I couldn't possibly show my face in that town after what your father has done." Pam's tone was full of contempt and Jackie had to bite her lip to stop herself from crying.

Her mother wasn't coming home, her father was in jail, she had no friends left here. She was all on her own.

"But mother… What - What am I supposed to do here all alone? Someone has to pay the staff and I can't use daddy's check book now that he's in prison."

Pam scoffed through the other end of the line. "I wouldn't worry about the staff sweetie, I've already fired them."

Jackie's mouth hung open in shock as she looked quickly around her surroundings, suddenly aware of how empty the town house was when normally Marie, the maid, Teddy, the eccentric chef and Louis the gardener would be buzzing around.

Her heart ached at the thought of never seeing these people again, they had been in her life for 7 years and she didn't even get the chance to say goodbye and apologize.

She thought about Marie and her three young children, whom she was raising on her own, how would they survive without the weekly paycheck? She thought of Teddy and his funny laugh as they chatted in the kitchen in the mornings while he made her an egg white omelet. She thought of Louis and his beautiful wife who had tried to teach her how to speak Spanish.

All such wonderful people who had lost their jobs and Jackie hadn't even known.

"Fired?! Mother, how could you?!" Jackie gasped, besides the fact that these people relied on her family and their paychecks to live, how was she supposed to look after this huge house on her own?

Did her mother just expect her to live here all alone?

"Well it doesn't make a lot of sense to have a staff when you don't even have a home for them to work in silly."

Jackie felt her stomach drop. "What are you talking about?"

Pam sighed as if she were annoyed by merely having this conversation, which was the normal tone Jackie's mother took whenever she had to have any real discussion with her daughter. "Jackie, your father owes a lot of money. We've had to sell the town house. I've been on the phone all day trying to work something out for you so please don't be so negative."

_Negative? Negative?!_

Jackie couldn't believe what she was hearing. Now her mother was telling her she was homeless and acting as if Jackie were a burden.

"Where am I supposed to go?" Jackie sniffed as she slumped against the wall separating the kitchen from the dining room where the phone was hung. This day was going from bad to worse and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Well luckily for you. I've been in touch with your godmother and she has agreed to take you in for your entire senior year!"

Jackie frowned, trying to figure out who exactly her Godmother was. She was 99% sure she didn't actually have any Godparent's, as her family weren't exactly religious and had never mentioned anything about Godparents before.

"Mother who are you talking about? I don't have a Godmother."

Pam paused for a moment before responding as if trying to work it out herself. "Oh, that's right," she laughed across the line. "Well either way, Kitty and Red Forman have agreed to house you back home in Point Place, isn't that wonderful?!"

Jackie groaned out loud.

Point Place hadn't been home to her since she was 10 years old. And she hadn't seen or heard from the Forman's since her family had moved to New York all those years ago, she barely remembered the family.

"Why would they agree to take me in?"

"Because they are good people honey. And Kitty is a good friend of your fathers and mine from our high school days. Anyway, honey you are lucky I could find somewhere for you this late notice. I mean the house is being cleared out on the weekend and no one in New York would take you in so this is really your only option."

"No, mother!" Jackie yelled into the phone, tears escaping her eyes finally. "I should have another option! You need to come home, so that we can work through this together as a family!" She took her shot but knew that once Pam made her mind up about something, there was no changing it.

Pam sighed sounding utterly exasperated. "Jackie, I just can't. Not after everything that's happened with your father. I need to rebuild my life and I can't do that with Jack's mistakes looming over me… It's only for a year, after high school you'll get into a great college and you'll be living out of home anyway."

"College? How am I supposed to afford college if we can't even afford to keep the house?"

"You're a smart girl sweetie, I'm sure you'll get one of those… Oh what are they called. Where you don't have to pay?"

"Scholarship," Jackie whispered into the phone

"That's the one! See how smart you are? Okay Jackie I can hear beeping through the phone, so I must get going. I've booked you onto a flight into Wisconsin tomorrow at 3 o'clock. Just go to the check in desk at the airport, they'll have your ticket and one of the Forman's will be at the airport to pick you up. Love you honey, I'll talk to you in a few weeks when your settled in!"

The phone line went dead before Jackie even had a chance to respond. She let the phone hang from its cord as she pushed back against the wall and wiped away her tears. Her glamorous life in New-York was officially over, her father's indiscretions had ruined more then just his life, they'd ruined Jackie's too.

And her mother hadn't even given her 24 hours to digest the news. She'd be moving in with a family she barely remembered, into a town she once hated, where she'd need to make new friends and climb a whole new social ladder.

There was nothing she could do to change any of it. So, she left the kitchen and moved towards her bedroom to go about packing up her things. The only material possessions she had left in life.

"I can't believe I'm going back to Point Place," she muttered to herself as she climbed the stairs. She had thought their family were completely done with that tiny little town, now she was going back there completely broke and alone.

She couldn't believe this is what her life had come to.

* * *

1 hour previous.  
Point Place, Wisconsin.  
The Forman's Kitchen.

Inside the Forman's house, Kitty had just gotten off the phone with Pam Burkhart and had called the boys up from the basement and into the kitchen to share with them the news.

Eric, Hyde and Kelso came up through the interior stairs that lead to the basement door and into the kitchen. Eric and Hyde took a seat down at the kitchen table and Kelso bypassed Kitty to the fridge.

Kitty watched with annoyance as Kelso rummaged through her fridge. "Michael, I really just need to talk to Eric and Steven alone, if that is alright?" She wondered, trying her best to be polite even though she regularly just wanted to scream at Michael Kelso whenever he was being idiotic, which seemed to be more times than none as of late.

Kelso shut the fridge door and stared back at her with a look of horror on his face. "Alright. I get it," he nodded his head. "I know when I'm not wanted," he added before unceremoniously storming out of the kitchen.

Kitty looked over at her beloved two sons, who were now snickering at the reaction of their friend. "Now boys I need to have a serious talk with both of you about something," she mumbled as she came to sit down at the table with them.

She was a little nervous about how this conversation would go down, considering everything that had happened to the family recently. Especially since Red was still in the hospital after his heart attack and Laurie's disappearing to Chicago was just under two weeks ago.

"Is this about Red?" Hyde wondered and even with his signature shades on, Kitty could see the concern laced through his expression.

"He's still coming home tomorrow right? Cause Donna and I are supposed to be moving to Madison in two weeks!" Eric added, and Kitty sighed, wishing Eric could be a little less selfish at times.

She also hated any reminder of the fact that her beautiful boy was going to be leaving her for that red headed temptress, in only 2 weeks times.

Hyde leaned across the table and frogged Eric in the arm. "This isn't about you Forman. Stop being such a jackass."

"Me?! You just punched me and I'm the jackass?!" Eric rubbed his arm vigorously

"Now-now watch your language!" She scolded them before continuing. "And no this isn't about your father, Red is fine and is still coming home from the hospital tomorrow. Thank God for that," she let out a sigh of relief, for a moment there things were looking scary when it came to her beloved husband and she was so thankful that he had made such a recovery.

"So, what's going on?" Eric wondered. "Laurie hasn't married another foreigner, has she?" He joked and then proceeded to laugh at his own joke, but Kitty didn't find it very funny.

"You know very well that no one has heard from your sister since she packed her bags and left for Chicago."

"Which is no different from any of the other times she's ran off," Eric pointed out and even though it was true, it still didn't make Kitty feel any better.

"I do wish she would just call to let us know that she is alright. Red is worried sick about her and I'm worried he's going to have another heart attack because of that girls' actions," Kitty sighed as her thoughts drifted to her troubled daughter.

"Not to mention Fez is going mad trying to track her down," Eric pointed out. "I saw him in town today, just walking around and asking people if they'd seen 'his wife'."

"What is the matter with that boy?" Kitty wondered with a frown. That boy, who technically was her son-in-law now, had only gotten stranger in the last few weeks and she wasn't sure how that was possible.

It was like his marriage to her daughter had caused some sort of mental break down.

"A-lot of things," Hyde responded.

"So, if it's not about dad or Laurie, what's going on?" Eric spoke up as he eyed his mother warily.

"Oh yes," Kitty smiled over at Hyde and Eric, to be honest she was quite excited by the news she had. She had been afraid now that her kids were out of high school she would have an empty nest, but now she wouldn't have to worry about that for at least another year, she just hoped her family would be as positive and excited as she was.

"You remember the Burkhart's? My old friends from high school?"

Kitty searched the blank faces of both Hyde and Eric before realizing they had no idea who she was talking about.

"They had a daughter. Jackie Burkhart, she's a year younger then you boys and went to your grade school."

Kitty paused and waited for any reaction, after a moment both boys scrunched their face up in a frown.

"You mean that annoying-loud chick who used to follow Kelso around all the time?" Hyde wondered, and Kitty nodded her head with an excited smile.

She remembered how cute Michael and Jackie had been holding hands in the playground and calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend when they were 9. You couldn't hold her little relationship with Michael against the girl though, she was very young and couldn't have known how the boy was to grow up like.

"Not that girl who used to force us to play tea parties with her?" Eric wondered with shuddered, although Kitty remembered that situation a little differently. Eric had always been the one who wanted to play tea parties, back then he was thrilled that someone had come along who finally agreed to play with him.

Kitty smiled brightly at the sweet memory and nodded. "Yes, that's little Jackie."

"Jackie Burkhart… We used to call her the devil," Eric muttered in a dark tone and Kitty reached out to lightly slap him over the arm. "Ow!" He yelled even though she had barely touched him. "Alright that's it, everyone has got to stop hitting me or I'm going to lose it!" He looked back and forth from Kitty and Hyde.

"She was a sweet little girl, who I'm sure is still just as lovely. Stop being so dramatic."

"Mrs. Forman why are we talking about some chick who moved away years ago?" Hyde questioned moving the conversation along to get to the point.

"It seems Jack, Jackie's father. Has gone to prison over some fraud allegations."

Pam hadn't told her the extent to the situation, but Kitty did know that much. She hadn't wanted to pry, it wasn't her business what crimes Jack had (or hadn't) committed.

"If he's in prison, I don't think they are allegations anymore," Eric pointed out with a snicker.

"Whether or not he did or didn't steal millions from his clients, is none of our business. I was on the phone with Pam Burkhart just then, apparently the family have lost their home and Pam cannot look after Jackie at this time-"

"That's crap Mrs. Forman. She doesn't want to look after her kid anymore because she's selfish, so she's splitting on her… Just say it like it is man," Hyde read between the lines, as a child of abandon himself he was sensitive to the issue.

"Okay… Pam is blowing through the remainder of whatever money Jack left them, in Europe while she looks for a new sugar daddy. So, she needs someone to take in Jackie while she completes her senior year," Kitty informed the two bluntly.

Eric instantly groaned. "No! Mom don't tell me," her son had put two and two together, jumping to the conclusion.

"I agreed to take her in."

"I said don't tell me!" Eric groaned again and rested his head against the table top dramatically.

"Mrs. Forman, are you serious? That girl is a spoiled brat man," Hyde pointed out and Kitty was disappointed, she thought Hyde would be the one on her side.

"You haven't seen her in 7 years Steven," Kitty pointed out trying to be positive

"She was a brat then, sure she's a brat now," Hyde added. "You just got rid of one ungrateful spoiled daughter and now you want to invite another one into your house?... You don't gotta take in every orphan you come across."

Kitty was shocked at how Steven was reacting, she expected so much from Eric, but Steven was an orphan once too and out of everyone, she couldn't believe how inconsiderate he was being.

"Steven I can't believe you would say that. I really thought out of everyone you would be the most understanding to poor Jackie's situation. She's found herself suddenly parent-less and homeless, she has nowhere to go and we have a spare room now that Laurie has gone AWOL. I won't allow the poor girl to live on the streets!"

Hyde blinked back at Kitty, as Eric continued to moan with his face pressed against the table.

"Sorry," Hyde mumbled as if he were embarrassed by his reaction. "You're right. It's cool that you're letting her stay here and I'll help out when you need."

Kitty smiled, pleased with her adopted sons response, she hated raising her voice at the boys, but this was something she felt strongly about, and she needed them both to get on board before Red came home.

"Well I'm very glad to hear that Steven. Because her flight gets in tomorrow afternoon and I need you to go and pick her up."

"What? Tomorrow?!" Eric and Hyde exclaimed at the same time.

"Her mother wanted her to get settled before school started, and she needed to get her out of the house before they started to sell all the furniture out from under her. And I would pick her up myself but Red's coming home from the hospital tomorrow and Eric and I need to be there for him."

Eric nodded in agreement, turning his head to smile smugly at Hyde. "You did say you'd help out when needed."

"Shut it, Forman," Hyde warned, annoyed by the smug expression on his friend's face. "I'll pick her up," he added quietly, he wasn't happy about the task, but he was willing to do his part for the family in their time of need.

"Thank you, Steven! You are such a good boy," Kitty leaned across the table to kiss Hyde on the check, he scrunched his face up and leaned away like he normally did when she showed him any type of affection.

"Red's not going to be happy about you bringing home another stray," Eric pointed out suddenly.

Kitty frowned, she was aware her husband probably wouldn't be happy at first about her impulse decision to house another orphaned teenager, but she had her ways of convincing Red to do things he didn't necessarily like.

"You let me worry about your father."

* * *

That night.  
The Forman's basement.

"Well Donna, it looks like you and I are getting out of here just in time," Eric commented as he walked in to the basement through the interior staircase with Hyde in tow.

Donna and Fez were seated on the couch while Kelso was seated on the lawn chair, they were all watching an episode of '_Three's Company'_ but had turned to look at Eric and Hyde as they sat down in their respected spots.

Eric next to Donna and Hyde in his chair across from Kelso.

"What are you talking about?" Donna wondered with an amused look on her face as Eric placed his arm around her and pulled her lightly into his side.

"I'm talking about the reemergence of a certain she-devil with brown hair and pink toenails, that's what I'm talking about," Eric continued, shuddering at the mere thought of the spoiled princess from hell normally referred to as Jackie Burkhart.

"Does she have a boyfriend?" Fez questioned quickly.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Fez.

"Man, you don't even know who he's talking about," Hyde pointed out with a frown on his face.

"And I thought you were into Laurie… You know, your wife?" Donna pointed out, reminding Fez about his current relationship status with her fiance's annoying older sister.

"I know… I have just been so lonely since my wife's mysterious disappearance and I have needs."

Kelso leaned forward to pat a sad Fez on the back. "I'm sure she'll show up somewhere buddy… It's like when I lost my BB gun all those years ago, and then I found it buried in my backyard!"

"Kelso… How is this anything like that?" Hyde questioned.

"My gun was lost, and then I found it! Geez Hyde, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one," Kelso scoffed. "No wonder I scored better on the STA'S," he muttered over to Fez.

"It's the SAT'S you moron!" Hyde exclaimed, frustrated. He couldn't believe that that guy had somehow outscored him in that test.

Donna looked back and forth from her friends before turning to face Eric. "So, what were you talking about?" She wondered her curiosity peaking.

"Remember Jackie Burkhart? She used to live in that fancy house near the woods?" Eric began looking down at his fiancé.

Donna scrunched her nose up. "You mean that annoying rich girl who used to call me a giant?" She questioned, and Eric nodded his head back at her. "Hey, wasn't she technically Kelso's first girlfriend?"

Everyone turned to look at Kelso and he stared back blankly at them for a moment before remembering. "Oh yeah! Jackie… Good times man," he bobbed his head up and down with a big smile on his face as memories of the little brunette bossing him around filled his mind.

"Didn't she move to New York?" Donna wondered, turning back to face Eric.

"That she did Donna… Well, turns out Jackie's parents revile our own good buddy Hyde's, with the worst parents ever title."

"Hey," Hyde pointed a finger over at Eric. "No-one's parents are shittier then Edna and Bud… Although Jackie's ones gotta come a close second."

"I don't get it… Did Jackie's parents abandon Hyde?" Fez asked with a confused look on his face and Kelso, Eric and Donna laughed back.

"No Fez man… They abandoned Jackie," Hyde responded.

"Who?"

"Her parents man!"

Donna interjected. "Would the two of you dill holes shut up!... Eric, explain."

"Apparently her dad is some sort of criminal and her mom is a gold-digging floozy… Anyhow, Jackie's got no parents and no place to live so of course my mom had to invite her to live with us," Eric filled in the rest of the story.

"Oh my God," Donna exclaimed surprised. "Jackie Burkhart's going to be living here?"

"In Laurie's room… Hyde's going to pick her up tomorrow."

"Well… I am glad we're moving to Madison," Donna smiled, agreeing with her fiancé's earlier remark.

"If you ask me, this is going to be awesome… If I remember correctly Jackie is smoking hot. And I bet she's going to be dying at the chance to get with this whole package again," Kelso used his hand to motion to his body, with a cocky smirk.

"Man… She was like 10 when she moved out of town," Hyde pointed out to his friend.

"So?" Kelso replied.

"So, you just called a 10-year-old smoking hot."

"I call it like I see it Hyde," Kelso leaned back in his lawn chair with a grin.

"I can't believe miss Kitty is already trying to replace my sweet Laurie," Fez stood up from his spot on the couch. "She has only been gone 2 weeks and already you are giving her room away to someone else! This isn't right!"

"Fez relax man," Eric looked up at his friend with an amused expression. "If Laurie comes back, I'm sure Hyde wont mind sharing the basement with the devil."

Hyde stared down Eric as his other friends snickered at the thought of him and Jackie bunking together. "Don't piss me off. Still can't believe I'm the one who got stuck picking this chick up from the airport."

"Yeah, how did that happen?" Donna wondered as Fez took his seat back next to her.

"Mrs. Forman guilt tripped me into it," Hyde mumbled back. "Anyone else up for a ride to the airport tomorrow?" He wondered, trying to rope someone else into coming with him.

"I've gotta pack for our move," Donna respond. "Sorry."

"Gotta pick up the old man from the hospital," Eric added.

"I'll come," Kelso put up his hand.

"Anyone but Kelso," Hyde responded quickly.

"What, why not?!" Kelso exclaimed with a hurt look on his face.

"Cause, the only thing worse then picking up a chick like Jackie from the airport. Is picking up a chick like Jackie from the airport, then having to listen to you hitting on her all the way home."

Kelso paused before slumping back down into his chair. "Fine."

Hyde turned to look at Fez expectantly.

"I would… But I have to go into town and print out the missing person fliers I made for Laurie," Fez explained with a sympathetic expression.

Hyde groaned. "Man, you know Laurie isn't actually missing right?"

"She's staying with a friend in Chicago, we've told you this a million times Fez," Eric reminded his friend.

"That's what you say. But every time I call the number, there is no answer, or some lady tells me she doesn't know a Laurie then hangs up on me! And I refused to believe that my wife would just leave me like this."

"Fez, she's probably banging two dudes for rent money as we speak," Hyde informed Fez.

Kelso laughed. "Yeah that Laurie was a wild one…" He gazed off into the distance.

"Stop day dreaming about my wife you son of a bitch!" Fez lunged forward and tackled Kelso off his chair.

Eric, Donna and Hyde all ignored Fez and Kelso, turning away from them to face each-other. "Eric, how are your parents going to afford putting up another kid?" Donna wondered.

"I don't know," Eric shrugged, the thought hadn't exactly crossed his mind before.

"I mean. Red's not going to be able to work for a while, and Kitty is already working double shifts just trying to afford the bare minimum as it is."

Eric felt a twinge a guilt run through him. It was true he hadn't thought about his family's financial situation as of late, to busy with the thoughts of his sick father and then of his impending move with Donna.

His mother had been working herself to the bone lately, and even with the money she'd been getting for the double shifts she'd been working, it was barely enough to keep food in the house. Eric had thought once Red got home that everything would go back to normal. But Donna was right, he wouldn't be healthy enough to go back to work for a while.

And now with the added responsibility of Jackie coming to live with them, they'd be running themselves dry.

"I hadn't really thought about it," Eric mumbled, guilt ridden.

"Eric don't worry about it. I can give your parents some extra cash now that I'm starting full time at the Holiday Hotel," Hyde offered but it only made Eric feel guiltier.

Shouldn't he be the one to help his parents in their time of need?

"They're probably fine… I'm sure Mrs. Forman wouldn't have offered to take in Jackie if they weren't able to afford it financially, right?" Donna added with a concerned expression on her face as she looked over at Eric, she could tell he was worried.

"Right," Eric nodded his head slowly, trying to convince himself of the same thing.

Suddenly a loud bang sounded from the other end of the room as Kelso and Fez bumped into the small bookshelf that housed Eric and Hyde's record player.

"Take it back!" Fez exclaimed as the two continued to wrestle each other.

Hyde stood up from his chair. "That's it," he walked over towards the two and reached down to lay a few blows to each of his friends, successfully ending their impromptu wrestling match.

"Owe, my eye!" Kelso stood up suddenly, cupping his eye and staring coldly at Hyde before storming out of the basement.

"Think I'll move to Madison with you guys," Hyde jokingly stated to Eric and Donna as he walked back over to his chair.

"Oh sure, just leave me here alone with Kelso!" Fez exclaimed in annoyance as he fixed his creased shirt and sat down on the lawn chair.

* * *

**So there's our set up chapter and the first chapter to this story.**  
**Would love to hear what you guys thought of it so far.**


	2. Hello Wisconsin!

Chapter 2.

Wisconsin airport.

Hyde tapped his foot impatiently as he waited by the baggage claim for the incoming New-York flight. It hadn't dawned on him until he arrived at the airport 10 minutes earlier that he had no idea what Jackie Burkhart as a 17-year-old even looked like, he barely remembered what she looked like as a 10-year-old.

Her flight had landed 20 minutes ago, and the baggage claim was crowded with people searching for their own luggage. He had chosen a spot near the door's where he could look out over everyone, figuring if he didn't spot her initially, she'd have to come this way to get outside anyway and then maybe she'd recognize him.

Although he wasn't putting all his eggs in that basket either.

His eyes scanned the crowd of people as he decided to limit his search to any girl with brown hair who looked around the age of 17. Time passed by and the crowd diminished, he'd been waiting for almost 25 minutes and was contemplating when would be acceptable to just call it a day and leave without her.

Mrs. Forman wouldn't be happy, but if this chick had any brains she'd be able to call herself a cab and get to the Forman's without him.

Just when he was ready to call it quits and head home Jackie-less, he spotted a small brunette in a sundress and wedged heels walking directly past him and out the door he had been standing next to. So far, she was the only person who had fit the bill, so he reacted quickly.

"Wait!" Hyde called out and followed after her, he picked up his pace so that he could get in front of the girl and once they were face-to-face he asked unsure. "Jackie?"

Now that he was up close, he could definitely see the resemblance to the girl he had remembered from all those years ago, but when she didn't respond instantly he worried that he'd just made a fool out of himself in front of this chick.

She was looking up at him, her mismatched eyes scanning over his face (one hazel the other green. A feature he didn't recall the younger Jackie Burkhart having). It was like she was trying to place him as well and it took her a moment before she finally spoke.

"Oh my God… Steven, right?" she flashed him a big smile.

It was the type of fake smile people reserved when they bumped into acquaintances on the street that they didn't really want to talk to but felt obliged too. Hyde normally hated those smiles, they were fake, and he always strived to be as real as possible. Normally those smiles ticked him off, but for some reason this one was having the opposite effect.

He was surprised that she remembered his name, they didn't have much to do with each other when she lived here with her family. Sure, she followed Kelso around like a bad smell, and sometimes her family would be over the Forman's on occasions when he was there, but most of the time they had spent ignoring the other one's existence.

Hyde was too scruffy and poor for Jackie's liking and Jackie had been to girly and shallow for Hyde's liking. Not to mention her parents had been filthy rich and in turn, had tried to avoid him and his family, at all costs.

"Yeah… Everyone calls me Hyde now."

He couldn't remember the last time someone (who wasn't Red or Mrs. Forman), had called him by his first name. It had sounded strange coming from her lips but what was even stranger was the fact that he didn't hate it like he should have.

He noticed that she looked different from the way he had imagined her to look. People had said that she was cute when she was a young girl, but he had never found anything particularly alluring about her back then.

But now that he was standing face to face with the 17-year-old version of Jackie Burkhart, he finally saw what everyone had been seeing and he couldn't argue that she'd grown up to be nothing less than beautiful. Not that he'd admit that to her or anyone else.

"Uh, okay," Jackie nodded slowly. "You look different, I almost didn't recognize you with the beard and those shades on," she pointed to his signature sunglasses and the new facial hair he had been trying out that summer.

Hyde subconsciously scratched at his thick beard. "It's been awhile… Last time I saw you, you had pigtails and freckles," the pigtails were gone, replaced with long bouncy waves that he imagined would feel pretty cool to run your fingers through and the freckles had either disappeared for good or were hidden by a layer of makeup.

Jackie laughed and as if she had read his mind, ran her fingers through her long brown hair. "I didn't even think you knew who I was back then," she admitted, and Hyde caught sight of what he thought looked like a blush, but whatever it had been, was gone a second later.

"Sure I did… You were that annoying girl who was always going on about Donny Osmond."

Jackie huffed. "Uh I'm sorry. Did you just call me annoying?" She questioned back with a feisty attitude as she placed both hands on her hip, frowning at him expectantly as if the simple change in her demeanor would get him to take back what he had just said.

It didn't matter how she looked at him, Hyde wasn't the type to take anything back or to apologize. She could keep shooting him that dirty look if she wanted to, but he wasn't the type to budge. The sooner she learnt that, the better.

"Yeah, you were," he smirked over at her, enjoying riling her up.

Jackie rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever…" She dropped it and turned her head to look around. "So, what are you doing here anyway? Are you going somewhere?" She wondered, motioning back to the airport then crossing her arms over her chest.

_Oh right. _She must have thought he was flying out somewhere.

Yeah, right. Like he'd ever get out of Point Place.

"Not exactly… I'm your ride man… Sort of living with the Forman's now and they had some shit to do," he explained quickly, hoping she wouldn't ask any more questions, he hated to talk about himself and didn't want to explain why he was living where he was living.

It would only end up in a story about how his parents abandoned him and then he'd be forced to listen to her similar story of misfortune. He didn't want her thinking that just because they both had shitty parents, meant she could come to him with all her abandonment issues.

"Oh," Jackie looked down. "They didn't even want to pick me up themselves," she mumbled as if hurt.

Hyde frowned, he didn't want her to get the wrong idea about the Formans. "Yeah well, they would have come, but Red had a heart attack and Mrs. Forman's been dealing with that… So you know picking you up from the airport kinda' landed on me."

Jackie quickly looked back up at Hyde. "Oh… I'm sorry I didn't know. That's horrible," she apologized quietly. "Is Mr. Forman alright?"

Hyde shrugged her off. "Don't sweat it… He'll be alright. He's coming home from the hospital today," he informed her right as a strange man walked towards them with a trolley full of luggage. Hyde watched as the man stopped behind Jackie and stood there as if waiting for her to notice him.

"Uh, hey Jackie… Who's this guy?" Hyde wondered, nodding his head towards the stranger behind her.

Jackie turned her head to look quickly before returning her gaze to Hyde. "Just some guy who offered to help me with my things," she shrugged, turning her attention to her nail beds.

Hyde looked back over at the awkward looking guy and frowned, he looked like a love-sick puppy dog as he waited for Jackie to acknowledge him. Hyde's gaze wandered to the trolley jam-packed with luggage that was so full it looked like the thing was about to buckle under the pressure and fall over.

"All that stuffs yours?" Hyde asked in disbelief, he knew she was coming to stay for the whole year, but this seemed ridiculous, especially to a boy who could pack all his belongings in a single green duffel bag.

"Yeah… It was so hard picking out what to take and what to leave behind," Jackie admitted with a sigh as she looked back at her things. Hyde tried to comprehend having even more stuff then what was packed up into those bags. Her family must have been loaded.

"Thanks for your help… You can go now," she finally acknowledged the poor guy who had been suckered into pushing her luggage around for her.

"Are you sure you don't need help getting them to your car?" He questioned as he eyed over Hyde with a jealous expression. Hyde couldn't help but snicker back under his gaze, was this guy serious?

"We'll be fine," Jackie responded with a bored tone.

"Okay… Can I get your number?"

Jackie let out an exasperated sigh. "Sorry but I don't even know my number yet," she admitted and finally, he took the hint, leaving Hyde and Jackie alone.

"Man… You should have just let him haul your shit to the car," Hyde pointed out as he watched the deflated man retreat into the airport. Normally, he wasn't into chicks using their looks to manipulate others but, in this case, he could get behind her calculating ways if it meant he didn't have to help lug her shit back to the Camino.

"Oh yeah," Jackie shrugged. "That's okay. I'm sure you can handle it," she flashed him a smile that Hyde was sure she probably used on every man to get exactly what she wanted but he wasn't just any other guy and he refused to allow her to get her way so easily.

He wasn't like those pathetic guys who would do what she wanted just because she smiled at him.

Hyde turned to the trolley and grabbed two bags that looked like they were about to fall off anyway. "How bout' you carry these, and I'll push the trolley," he dropped the bags in front of her and Jackie looked over at him with a shocked expression.

But before she could complain, he was already walking off with the trolley towards where the Camino was parked. "Come on, cars parked this way," he yelled back to her and chuckled as the sounds of her struggling with the bags reached his ear.

Hyde got to the El Camino first, even though he was the one lugging most of Jackie's shit. He was loading the back of the car up with her bags when Jackie finally approached him. She was struggling with the two bags he had left her with, one she had thrown across her back and the other she was dragging along the ground as if she didn't have the strength to lift it.

"You know. A gentleman would have carried _all_ the bags for me," Jackie pointed out with a glare as Hyde turned to her to grab the two bags off her.

"Well, guess I'm no gentleman," he shrugged as he threw her stuff carelessly into the back of the Camino. Jackie's mouth opened in shock at his mistreatment of her things, but before she had the opportunity to berate him, he turned to get into the car.

Jackie entered the passenger side a moment later with a huff and Hyde wasted no time starting the car up. The engine purred as he pulled out from the parking space. They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before he noticed her shift in her seat, turning to face him.

"This is a nice car," she admitted quietly a moment later. "Is it yours?"

Hyde eyed her curiously before turning his attention back to the road. "I didn't steal it, if that's what you're getting at."

He figured she was just making pointless chit-chat about his car to fill the awkward silence. But if there was one thing Hyde hated more then awkward silences, it was pointless chit-chat.

"I wasn't saying that… It's just this is a really expensive car and I-"

"Hey Jackie, how's about we don't talk?" Hyde cut her off and reached out to flick the radio on, he turned the volume up loud hoping that she would get the hint. He wasn't into chatting all the way home, wasn't really the kind of guy who conversed just to fill the silence, but he had a feeling this chick never stopped talking, too into the sound of her own voice probably.

And just to prove his point, Jackie leaned forward to turn the radio volume down low.

"I wasn't trying to offend you or anything. I'm sure you didn't steal it, or at-least I'm 80% sure you didn't steal it because, well I don't really know you that well… But anyway, I only brought it up cause' I like cars, they're kind of a hobby of mine," she shrugged, and Hyde scoffed.

Sure, all chicks liked cars. They liked guys with cars so that they could drive them around places and make-out in the backseat.

Hyde could feel Jackie glaring over at him. "And I don't mean that in a superficial way… I actually am really interested in them, my dad and I used to work on his Lincoln together… You know, before everything happened. It was our thing," her voice dropped so low he almost didn't catch the last bit.

He turned his head quickly to look at her, she was looking down sadly at her lap, her fingers fiddling together as if she were nervous.

He thought about how it must be hard for her, losing her old man like that. Sure, his old man had gone to jail when he was a kid too, but him and Bud had never been that close, never had a hobby that they used to do together, unless you counted watching TV.

"I'm going to miss it," she added, her voice shaky.

_Ah crap, don't cry, don't cry._

Hyde couldn't stand when chicks cried around him.

Quickly, he said the first thing that came to his mind to cheer her up before she started the water works. "Hey man… I wouldn't worry, your dads rich, right? Rich people don't stay in prison for long."

Jackie looked over at him with a blank expression that he couldn't read. He wasn't sure if she was buying what he was selling, but for a while his words seemed to work in getting her to shut up and they went almost a full 15 minutes of blissful silence.

Which was just the way Hyde liked things.

Although, Jackie seemed to be the opposite to him in every way, he could tell she was dying to say something. She kept turning her head to look at him every other second and was practically buzzing in her seat.

A few minutes later and he wasn't sure if he could take it anymore. "What, man?" He finally caved and snapped at her.

"Nothing," she shot back and turned to look out the window.

Hyde rolled his eyes.

_Three… Two… One_

"How come you're living with the Formans?" She finally asked, and Hyde groaned, there was no way he was having this conversation with her. "You said before you lived with them now…"

"Ever heard the phrase, mind your own business?" He shot back at her as he turned the Camino onto the Point Place exit from the highway and thanked the Lord that they were only 10 minutes away from the Forman's place. He couldn't wait to paw her off to Mrs. Forman.

"Did your parents abandon you too?" She completely ignored him, jumping to a conclusion that annoyingly enough, was spot on.

"Jackie… Anyone ever tell you to shut your pie hole back in New York?"

"… No"

"Shut your pie hole!"

Jackie huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I can't believe my life has come to this… Moving back to Point Place, starting at a brand-new school my senior year where I know no-one and living in a house with random people I hardly remember… Not to mention sharing a living space with you," she turned her nose up at him.

Hyde's jaw clenched, and his fists tightened around the steering wheel. "The Formans are good people man… You're lucky they even took you in. If it weren't for them you'd be a high school drop-out living on the streets and by the way I ain't so thrilled about having to live with you either."

There was a brief pause until Hyde heard Jackie sniffling from beside him. He sighed, damn it. He couldn't show up to the Forman's with a crying Jackie, he'd get the blame from Mrs. Forman and Red was liable to kick his ass.

Plus, he just really didn't want to deal with a crying Jackie. He needed to do some damage control to make sure that wouldn't happen.

"You hungry?"

Food was the first thing that came to mind, a good meal always put him in a better mood. Why not Jackie too?

Hyde turned his head quickly to catch her reaction, they were about to pass the turn for Fatso Burger. Jackie was wiping at her eyes; no tears had fallen yet which was a good sign.

"I don't have any money," she admitted quietly as if embarrassed. He figured her parents would have left her with something but maybe the Burkhart's were worse off then he'd thought.

Hyde wasn't normally the type to pay for others, he worked hard for the money he got and besides giving money to the Forman's for board and food, he didn't make a habit of spending his earnings on others. But he was willing to spend some cash if it meant avoiding bringing a crying Jackie home to the Forman's.

"It's cool… Ill buy."

"Okay," Jackie agreed as Hyde took the turn to Fatso Burger.

5 minutes later and Jackie was digging into a burger and fries as Hyde steered the Camino out of the Fatso Burger drive-through.

He watched her in his peripheral vision as she chowed down on her burger, she was eating so quickly it was as if she hadn't had a meal in days.

"You know… You might want to chew that. Got this rule about people choking to death in the Camino."

Jackie glared over at him, a look he had a feeling he would get used to rather quickly. "Shut up," she told him lamely after swallowing down the food in her mouth.

"I'm just hungry…"

"Yeah… I remember that feeling man."

Hyde recalled the countless times that he had to go without food back when Edna had run out on his ass, before the Formans had taken him in and he was living on his own. Crackers and ketchup weren't as sustainable as he'd imagined them to be, and they ran out quickly, leaving him with nothing.

Was hard to imagine this chick dealing with those same issues. But she'd been abandoned just like he had, dealt with the same shit he dealt with… maybe he'd judged her too quickly.

Jackie blinked over at him, chewing on another bite of her cheeseburger.

"Thank you… For the food," she said a moment later before holding out her fries to him. "Want to share?" She asked and surprised him, he hadn't expected the word 'share' or even 'thank-you' to be in this chick's vocabulary.

Hyde hadn't bought himself any food, he'd eaten before he had left to pick her up from the airport and he wasn't exactly hungry in the moment. But this seemed more significant then just an offering of fries.

Both knew what it felt like, not knowing where your next meal was coming from and they both knew the pain of having your parents abandon you. That wasn't something he could say about anyone else in his life.

So, he grabbed a handful of the offered fries and popped them into his mouth.

Accepting her peace offering.

They rode the rest of the way in silence and reached the Forman's a few minutes later.

* * *

Jackie bit her lip nervously as Hyde parked the Camino in front of the house that she was now supposed to call her home. She knew she had been here before when she was a kid, but she barely recognized the house now.

She looked out the window over at the small, modest two-story home as Steven dealt with the empty burger wrapper and fries' box that she had left on the bench seat next to her. He was stuffing the rubbish back into the Fatso burger takeout bag and buying Jackie a little more time before she had to step out of the car and officially enter her new life.

She was worried that the Formans would hate her. Sure, she normally got along with adults and parents usually loved her. But that was in passing moments, would it be different when she was living in their house? Some had found her personality a little… annoying. Or so she had been told.

And if they didn't like her, where would she go? No, she had to fit in here. This was her last option and she needed to make it work.

She took a deep breath in and prepared herself for the start of her new life.

* * *

**Hi there!  
**

**I just wanted to thank everyone who Reviewed/Fav/Followed this story so far, I'm so happy you guys enjoyed the first chapter and that people are interested in the concept I came up with. Hopefully you all enjoyed the second chapter as well because I had so much fun writing it. Hyde and Jackie don't really know each other in this fic so it's been really interesting building their relationship without certain events/relationships getting in the way.  
**

**Also, I've decided that i'm going to try upload the same time each week, so you guys will know when to expect the next chapter ;)  
**

**As always please hit the fav/follow button if you enjoyed this chapter and let me know what you liked/didn't like in the review section.**

**xoxo**


	3. Meet the Formans

Chapter 3.

"Let's go Jackie. You'll be fine," Hyde muttered from next to her as if he could sense her nerves. He exited the car and Jackie took a deep breath in before she did the same.

She looked back at her bags in the Camino's flatbed. "We'll deal with your stuff later," Hyde responded, like he had read her mind. She watched as he headed towards the Forman's bin to throw the takeout bag away for her.

He'd done a total 180 since she'd met him at the airport, now he was willingly throwing her rubbish away without her even having to ask him too. She wasn't sure what had changed, but she decidedly preferred this side of him a lot better, so she wouldn't question it.

Jackie followed him down the driveway slowly. She spotted two boys playing basketball at the end of the driveway and wondered if one of them was Eric Forman. The scrawny little boy she remembered to be the Forman's only son.

As she got closer, she deduced that neither looked to be the Forman boy. They hadn't noticed her presence yet as they continued to mess around with the basketball. She watched as the taller boy, who looked familiar, stole the ball from the other boy and proceeded to dunk it through the basketball hoop.

"I win!" He cheered with a big smile on his face.

"No, you cheated," the other boy, who was shorter and had darker hair pointed a finger at his friend. "That's it, I'm not playing with you ever again Kelso."

_Kelso… _

"Michael!" Jackie announced her presence as she walked up to the two boys. Surprised to see the boy that she used to think she was in-love with, she'd forgotten that he had been close friends with both Eric Forman and Steven Hyde.

He had grown much taller then she had ever expected of him (definitely well over 6 foot) and he still had his good looks, that was no surprise though, he'd been exceptionally beautiful even at the age of 12.

"Hey… Jackie," Kelso greeted her with a big dumb smile as he balanced the basketball between his hip and arm.

"You got hot!" He added a second later as Hyde walked up next to Jackie.

"Kelso… She just got here man. Could you at least wait till she unpacks before you go hitting on her?" Hyde wondered, and Jackie eyed him suspiciously.

Why did he care if Michael hit on her or not? It wasn't like she cared, she wasn't interested in dating right now anyway. So, Kelso could try as hard as he liked to get into her pants, she knew already that it wasn't going to work.

"Uh… No," Kelso looked at Hyde as if he had insulted him. "It's like you don't even know me."

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Jackie, this is Fez… And obviously you remember Kelso."

Jackie turned to face the other boy, whom she had definitely never met before. His looks, and weird fashion sense told her that he wasn't from here. Point Place was notoriously known for its lack in diversity. He must have moved to town while she was in New-York.

"Hello Jackie," Fez began to talk, and Jackie picked up on his strange accent straight away, he had to be a foreigner, which would also explain the strange name.

"I am sorry about your lousy parents. But I'm glad that we have gotten this chance to meet." He held out his hand and Jackie placed hers in his uncertainly, she watched with wide eyes as he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it.

Jackie pulled her hand away quickly. "Um… Thank you?" She responded unsurely before looking over at Hyde. "Fez?" She whispered quietly.

"Stands for foreign exchange student… Don't bother asking his real name, its too long and no one can pronounce it anyways," Hyde informed her.

"Well Fez… It's nice to meet you." Jackie smiled back over at Fez.

"Jackie was the first girl I ever kissed." Kelso leaned over and elbowed Fez in the arm, causing the ball he had been balancing on his hip to drop to the floor. He rushed to pick it back up before acting like the clumsy display never happened. "Yep. Those were some good times."

Jackie nodded her head slowly, she remembered the kiss he was talking about. It had happened right before she moved to New York and was their one and only kiss. She remembered he'd used way too much tongue and their teeth had clashed together awkwardly.

It definitely wasn't the greatest kiss she'd ever had.

"You know… If you ever get lonely. I'd be happy to reenact that kiss for you," Kelso grinned at her and Jackie had to fight rolling her eyes at the comment. There was no way she wanted to reenact that awful kiss.

It seemed like Kelso had grown up into a young adult while she was away, but his mental age somehow remained that of a 12-year-old boy.

"That's okay Michael. I'm good."

"Jackie…" Fez started, catching her attention. "You are a very beautiful woman, I would also be willing to help with any physical needs that you may have." He nodded his head as if he were doing her a favor and Jackie couldn't help but laugh.

"Fez, you're married man," Hyde pointed out and Jackie felt her eyebrows raise in shock, this weirdo was married?

Fez glared over at Hyde. "Yes, but before my wife ran off on me, we had agreed to an open relationship."

She had no idea what they were talking about, but she was suddenly very interested in finding out. How could this awkward boy have found a wife so early in life when Jackie struggled to find someone she liked for longer than a few weeks?

"Whatever man. Is Red back yet or what?" Hyde questioned before Jackie had a chance to ask Fez more about this wife of his.

"He's inside," Kelso waved a hand at the house, never taking his gaze off Jackie.

Hyde left the group, wandering off into the house. Jackie watched him disappear through the sliding door that looked to lead to the kitchen and wondered if she should follow him.

"Hey Jackie. Need help with your bags? I'm pretty strong you know," Kelso interrupted her thoughts.

"Me too," Fez interjected, and Jackie looked over at the two boys who were now flexing their muscles at her, as if it would impress her but there wasn't much to show off anyway.

Even though they were annoying her, Jackie quickly decided that it's better to have two boys vying for her affection then none and if they wanted to carry all her luggage inside, then who was she to stop them?

"That would be so great. My bags are in the back of the Camino. You can just bring them up to my new room," Jackie flashed her smile at the boys and watched as they began to race each other over to Hyde's car. "And be careful with them!" She shouted back at them, her clothes were expensive and also the only possessions she had left in life, she didn't want anything to get ruined.

Jackie turned towards the kitchen door and took a step forward before the door slid open on its own, and an older short woman came barreling out the house towards her.

"Jackie!" The woman, whom Jackie placed to be Kitty Forman came at her with arms wide open. "It's so good to see you," she wrapped her arms around her in a big hug.

Jackie returned the hug, awkwardly patting the woman on the back. "Mrs. Forman, I just want to thank you so much for letting me stay here," she began as they pulled away from each other.

Kitty waved her hand in the air as if it were no big deal. "Don't be silly, it's our pleasure. Your parents were good friends of mine and Red's back in the day and when I heard from Pam about your poor misfortune of-course I was going to do anything I could to help."

Jackie couldn't believe how nice this woman was, she barely remembered her from when she was younger and back in New York, no-one was ever this nice to others for no reason at all. She'd spent most of her adult life learning that if someone were being nice, it usually meant they wanted something from you.

But Mrs. Forman stood there smiling brightly at her, offering up her home and love for nothing in return.

"Well aren't you just the prettiest little thing," she added, cupping Jackie's face with her hands.

"Thank you," Jackie responded, and Kitty let out an infectious bubbly giggle.

"Now now, stop thanking me. It's my pleasure to have you here. I'm just so sorry about your floozy mother… But it's her loss because we are going to have so much fun here this year! You are going to fit right in, I just know it."

Jackie wasn't so sure, but the reassurance did feel nice.

"How was your trip? Was Steven nice? I know he can be a little grumpy at times, but he really is a sweet boy."

Jackie nodded her head slowly. "The flight was good, and Steven was um… well to be honest Mrs. Forman I'm not sure he likes me very much." She thought they had ended the ride on good terms, but she definitely understood what Kitty meant by his moodiness.

"Oh well I wouldn't take that too personally. Steven pretends not to like most people and most things really but it's just a front… I'm sure once the two of you get to know each other, you'll get along just fine."

"I'm not worried Mrs. Forman. Every-one loves me. Especially men. I'm cute and bubbly, it's a Burkhart trait, most people find it irresistible."

Steven might act like he hates most things and most people, but Jackie Burkhart never met a man she couldn't win over with her shiny personality and breathtakingly good looks.

"That's good dear… Now come inside and you can meet Red," Kitty grabbed hold of Jackie's hand. "I'll just warn you, he's a little grumpy today. We just came back from the hospital this morning, so he might be a tad short with you, but he'll perk up after a good night's rest!"

She flashed the older women a sympathetic smile. "I was sorry to hear about his heart attack… If you like, I could perform a cheer for him? It always used to perk my dad up when he was in a bad mood."

"Oh, that's alright Jackie. Red doesn't care much for dance routines."

Doesn't care for dance routines?

_Poor Mr. Forman._

Before Kitty had the chance to lead Jackie into the house, Kelso and Fez came stumbling over towards them. Kelso was balancing three large bags in his arms while Fez was holding one across each shoulder.

"Jackie you sure do have a lot of things," Fez informed Jackie with a huff, clearly out of breath from carrying her heavy bags up the drive way.

"Oh, you boys are so sweet helping Jackie with her things. You can just bring them straight up to Laurie's old room," Kitty instructed the boys who moved off into the house to do as they were told.

"Hey Fez… It's been awhile since I was in your wife's bedroom… Lotta' memories in there," Jackie heard Kelso say as the two friends disappeared into the Forman's home.

"Okay Jackie. Red's just inside the kitchen, let's go say hi."

She allowed Kitty to take hold of her hand and drag her through the sliding doors and into the kitchen.

Their kitchen was small, much smaller then she was used to. She guessed you could only fit four or five people in here before it began to get overcrowded. Currently the room was at its full capacity, Hyde and Red Forman were seated at the small round kitchen table and were staring up at her.

"Red, you remember Jackie," Kitty re-introduced the two with a big smile on her face and Jackie took a step forward towards the table.

Red had stuck his hand out for her to shake, but Jackie was more of a hugger and before she knew it, she had leaned down and wrapped her arms around him. "Mr. Forman, I heard about your heart attack and I'm so glad you're feeling better," she said sincerely before pecking him on the cheek and pulling away.

Red looked over at her as if she had just slapped him in the face. "Uh well… thanks," he mumbled, and his cheeks turned a shade of red.

"Thank you for letting me stay here."

"Don't thank me… If it were up to me you'd be back in New-York, but Kitty has a thing for strays."

Jackie took a step back at his admission, she realized her stay here had more to do with Mrs. Forman then Mr. Forman but she wasn't used to people being so blunt with her. She also wasn't crazy about being referred to as a stray.

"Red Forman, what did I tell you?" Kitty scolded her husband from her spot next to Jackie as she wrapped a consoling arm around her.

"Be nice to the girl," Red muttered. "But Kitty… I'm not nice to our own son, why would I be nice to this one."

"You're nice to Steven!" Kitty argued, bringing everyone's attention to Hyde who was sitting comfortably with an amused expression on his face as he watched the show unfold in front of him.

"That's because he's the only kid around here that's good for something. He cooks when you're at work," Red motioned with his hand over to Kitty. "Cleans up outside and does chores without being asked… What's this one going to do for me besides spend my money?"

The attention was brought back to Jackie and she felt her cheeks redden. Red was right, Jackie didn't do chores, she couldn't cook, and she had no money of her own anymore. She had nothing to offer them.

She opened her mouth to defend herself, but no words came out.

Hyde cleared his throat and interjected. "Jackie told me she knows a lot about cars… weren't you saying the other day that you need some help with the Toyota, Red?"

Was he trying to talk her up? Jackie thought Steven didn't even believe her when she had told him about her hobby being car mechanics. He'd just totally saved her from not only looking dumb, but also getting Red to value her as more then just some stranger in his house using up all his money.

If he bought it, that was.

Jackie held her breath as she watched Red look from Hyde back to her. "You know anything about Japanese cars?" He asked her, and Jackie nodded her head quickly. "Alright then… Guess she's not totally good for nothing… Like Eric."

* * *

Later that night.  
The Forman's driveway.

Hyde walked out through the sliding doors with a bag of rubbish in hand. The family had just had their first meal together with Jackie and it was more than a little awkward. Jackie tended to flap her gums, although Hyde already knew that from their journey back from the airport. She spent the entire time talking about how great New-York was and how much she was going to miss it there while he pretended to listen.

No one brought up the huge elephant in the room. Which was the whole reason why she had to leave her beloved Manhattan… her lousy good for nothing parents abandoning her.

Kitty spent most of the time trying to change the subject to how much Jackie was going to love it in Point Place while she pried anything worth eating out of Red's hands and left him with nothing but green vegetables. Which meant Red spent the dinner complaining about the food.

And to top it off, Eric hadn't even bothered to show. So, Hyde had to deal with the insanity all on his own.

The only reason that he got through dinner at all, was because he knew afterwards he could go down to the basement and get some alone time with his stash. But just as he had snuck down to the basement to smoke up, Kelso and Fez came barging in with Jackie in tow, which meant his plan to get high was ruined.

Sure, he could have started up a circle anyway, but he wasn't sure if he could trust Jackie not to tell the Forman's about his favorite activity. Which was why he was currently outside lugging rubbish down the driveway to the bins, killing time. After 5 minutes with those three in the basement, he had to get out. It was doing his head in listening to Kelso ad Fez constantly hitting on Jackie.

After taking out the trash, he began to make his way back to the house.

"Hyde!" He heard his name being called and turned to see Eric emerging through the Pinciotti's hedge and into the Forman's driveway. It was the first time today that Hyde had seen his friend, it wasn't like the guy to be out all day and he was always home for dinner.

It didn't take a genius to realize that something was off.

"Forman… Where the hell have you been all day?"

"You know… Here and there," Eric replied vaguely as he walked over to the vista cruiser parked in front of the garage and leaned against the back of it.

"Avoiding Jackie huh?" Hyde put two and two together, moving so that he was standing in front of his friend. "Smart man."

Eric looked over at the house. "So, the devils in there right now?"

Hyde nodded. "In the basement with Kelso and Fez… They're giving her a bigger head then she's already got."

"They're into her?"

"It's Kelso and Fez, they're into any chick who's got boobs."

"Yeah but… She's evil."

Hyde shrugged. Jackie was annoying, but he didn't exactly agree with his best-friends view of her and to be honest if he had a choice of sharing the place with Jackie or Laurie, he knew who he'd pick any day.

"She's hot, What are you gonna do?"

Eric gasped dramatically then shot Hyde a disgusted expression. "I can't believe you just said that!"

"Why don't you go in there and meet her before you judge her based off what she was like when she was a kid."

Eric shook his head. "I think I'm going to put that off for a little longer. Besides, I just got back from a 5-hour shift at the Holiday Hotel… I need some time to unwind."

So that's where the guy had been all day.

Hyde frowned. "You weren't supposed to work today." He knew as much because Hyde had to do the rosters himself, Roy was unreliable and had recently been forgetting a lot of shit, so he had been picking up the slack.

"I picked up a shift… Thought I'd give the extra money to mom."

That was surprising, it wasn't like Forman to think about people before himself and he loved his days off.

"That's cool of you man."

"Tell you the truth… I've been feeling kind of guilty lately. Everything that's going on, I mean mom's been working her butt off and I've been so wrapped up in moving away that I've barely noticed. I feel like I've been a little selfish."

"No…" Hyde responded sarcastically, and Eric shot him a dirty look. "Look, I get it man. You're excited to move out with your girl… But your parents are gonna be really strapped for cash, specially with Jackie moving in. Would be really cool if you helped out more."

"I just don't get what mom was thinking. They were barely staying afloat when it was just us four, now she's bringing in another mouth to feed."

"Your mom's a good person, Forman. She saved my life when she took me in and now she's probably saved Jackie's… Listen, maybe you should be thinking about putting off Madison for a bit." Hyde suggested something that had been running through his mind for the last week or so.

Eric sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Except this is my future we're talking about. I'm worried if I stay here, I'll get stuck here and I- I just gotta get out."

"What's so wrong with Point Place?"

Eric paused for a moment before saying. "Nothing… Come on, let's just play some ball or something," he pushed off from the car and walked over to the basketball ring, bending to pick up the ball by the base of the ring.

"Alright man. If you can handle me kicking your ass five nights in a row."

Hyde and Eric began to play and almost instantaneously Hyde had intercepted the ball off Eric, shooting and sinking the ball through the hoop of the ring. A few minutes later and Hyde was up by 5 points when Jackie rounded the corner from the backyard.

He noticed her standing by the vista cruiser watching the two play, so he dunked the ball one last time before acknowledging her.

"Hey Jackie… Where's dumb and dumber?" He asked her as he continued to bounce the ball in front of him.

Jackie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. It was getting chilly outside and she was still in the sundress that she had been wearing since he picked her up from the airport.

"They were annoying me, so I asked them to unpack my things upstairs."

"Shouldn't have done that… Kelso's notorious for panty raiding," Hyde pointed out and watched as Jackie scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"Ewww!"

Eric cleared his throat from next to Hyde and stepped forward towards Jackie. Hyde stood back to watch the show, both Eric and Jackie were looking each other up and down as if waiting for the other to speak.

Eric caved first. "Jackie."

"Eric."

"I see you're still short."

Jackie placed a hand on her hip. "And you're still a dweeb."

Hyde tried to stifle his laughter but was failing miserably.

"I was right… You are still evil," Eric squinted at her.

"Like I care what you think of me," Jackie responded sarcastically.

"Oh, I'm just getting started Missy."

"Missy?... I almost forgot what a scrawny little weirdo you are."

"Hey! I am not scrawny. It's not my fault that I have a fast metabolism, you- you witch!"

"Witch? That's the best you can come up with?"

"Oh, I can do a lot better than-"

Hyde rolled his eyes, already over watching this. He stepped forward in between the two and pushed Eric back a little. "Would the both of you just can it… Can't believe I gotta listen to the two of you bitch at each other for a whole year."

"And I can't believe my parents invited the devil incarnated to live in our family home!"

Jackie huffed, stomping a heeled foot in anger. "Well I can't believe I have to live with a twitchy little loser!"

"Oh, don't worry. I'll be moving out of here with my beautiful fiancée soon, so you won't have to live with this twitchy little loser for long."

Jackie let out a bellowing laugh. "Fiancée? Yeah right. Who on earth would agree to marry you? And Imaginary people don't count."

"Well the jokes on you because she is real, and she is going to marry me."

"Then she must be a weirdo just like you."

Forman had the exact same crazy look in his eye that he got when he was fighting with his sister Laurie, right before he came out with an uncharacteristically good burn. Hyde would have pulled the two apart again, but he was dying to hear what his buddy had come up with.

He watched with anticipation as Eric's mouth opened, but before he got the chance to burn Jackie, Kelso and Fez came running out the house in a hurry.

"Jackie," Kelso started, cutting off Eric. "I finished unpacking your stuff."

"We! We finished unpacking. I helped too Jackie," Fez cut in.

Jackie tore her eyes away from Eric to look over at Kelso and Fez. "Oh, thanks guys."

"So, Jackie, I was thinking we could go…" Kelso began, watching Jackie as she completely ignored him and walked off, leaving the group behind as she entered through the sliding door back into the Forman's house.

"That's cool, another time," Kelso waved a hand in her direction before turning back to Hyde and the others. "I don't think she heard me."

"No, she heard you. She was just pretending not too... You just got burned my friend," Fez stated the obvious and began to laugh.

Kelso flashed Fez a hurt look, before digging his hand down and into his jean pockets. "At least the night wasn't a total loss… Look what I stole," he pulled a pair of purple panties out of his pocket and held them high in the air with a big smile on his face.

"I knew it," Hyde shook his head.

"Gross Kelso put those away," Eric muttered with a look of disgust on his face.

"Give me the panties!" Fez leaned forward and reached up to try and snatch the panties away from Kelso.

As the two boys fought to keep possession of a pair of panties, Eric turned to Hyde. "Circle time?"

"Thought you'd never ask man."

* * *

**There we go - Jackie's met almost all of the basement gang and the Forman's, next chapter we'll get more into the actual story.**

**Once again, thanks for reading and don't forget to click the Fav/Follow button and comment on your favorite parts in the review section below.**


	4. Dazed and Confused

Chapter 4. 

The morning after.

Jackie's official first day back in Point Place had started off on a rather dull note. Breakfast with the Forman's had been pleasant enough, Red hadn't quite warmed up to her yet, but she was sure that she could win him over and he seemed pleased when she had suggested they look at the Toyota later on in the day.

Eric hadn't said much to her, although she preferred the silent treatment over their conversation the night before. She wasn't surprised by Eric's treatment of her, to be honest she expected as much. She remembered to back when they were younger, when their parents used to force them to play together, Jackie would tease him relentlessly during their tea party dates and apparently Eric held grudges.

She had hoped to spend the day at the mall or in town, figuring that maybe she'd run into some of the girls that she remembered from grade school. But she had no car to drive herself there and when she asked Steven if he could drop her off, he'd told her he'd be at work all day and that she should walk.

Walk! It was like a 20-minute drive to the Point Place mall from the Forman's, there was no way she'd make it in her heels and Jackie Burkhart didn't substitute style for practicality. Which was exactly what she had told Steven, who proceeded to tell her to suck it up and called her a princess, before leaving for work.

Normally Jackie would have loved the pet name, but she had a suspicion that he had used it to make fun of her, not to flatter her…

Now it was only 11.00am, and Jackie was already bored. Something that never happened to her in New-York. She always had things to do and people to see there, sure her friends weren't really her friends and didn't care about her so much as their social climbing agenda's but at least they always wanted to spend the day with her.

And here she couldn't feel lonelier as she sat out on one of the chairs on the patio by the kitchen doors. Mrs. Forman had gone to work much earlier that morning, taking the Toyota with her but Eric was still home somewhere. Jackie noticed the Vista Cruiser parked in front of her in the drive way.

But was she bored enough to hang out with Eric Forman? The answer was no…

She was examining the cuticles on her left hand as a tall, red headed girl entered the Forman's driveway through a little gate situated between the hedges, which ran down the full length of the driveway, separating the Forman's property from the next-door neighbors.

The tall girl spotted Jackie straight away. "Oh hey, Jackie… I don't know if you remember me. I'm Donna Pinciotti. I live next door," she pointed over to where she had appeared from.

Jackie paused for a moment, trying to place Donna in any memory she had from back when she lived here. She furrowed her brows, feeling awkward that she didn't remember the girl when clearly, she had remembered her.

Donna waited for her to respond. "Really? We went to school together… You used to call me a lumberjack?"

_Lumberjack… _Jackie thought for another moment, it was starting to ring a bell now.

"There was that one time I got really mad at you, so I hit you with that basketball during gym?"

Jackie gasped, the memory suddenly vivid in her mind. It was hard to forget being hit in the face with a basketball.

Donna was the giant girl in the grade above her that she used to get jealous of because she was always hanging around Kelso and the other guys. Jackie had thought back then, that Kelso harbored a secret crush towards Donna, so she remembered being slightly meaner to the red head then she would normally be.

"Oh my God… That was you?! I thought I was going to have to get a nose job at 10 thanks to you." Jackie stood up and took a few steps closer to the taller girl.

Donna shrugged and stuffed her hands in her pocket. "Well, your nose still looks fine to me," she commented with a small smile. "It's good to see you… You look great!"

The compliment sounded incredibly fake, but Jackie was raised to take what you could get when it came to backhanded compliments.

She smiled back at the girl. It was nice to know that there was another girl her age living so close by. It had been lonely here surrounded by so many men but hopefully her and the lumberjack could become friends.

"Thanks, Donna. And you know, normally I think red hair is gross, but you are totally pulling it off…"

Donna laughed. "I see you're still unapologetically blunt… But I do appreciate you calling me Donna and not lumberjack or giant."

"Oh, well you still are a giant and," Jackie paused to reach out and grab onto Donna's hand, lifting it to examine her nails. "Would it kill you to paint your nails- oh my God, what is this?!" She spotted a small engagement ring adorning Donna's ring finger.

Donna pulled her hand back and twisted the ring around her finger as Jackie waited for a response. "It's an engagement ring. I'm engaged," she stated the obvious.

_What was it with people getting engaged so young in this town?_ Jackie wondered, first Fez, then Eric and now the neighbor girl?

_Wait… _She suddenly remembered Eric making a comment about Donna during breakfast this morning.

"Oh my God… You're marrying Eric!" Jackie put two and two together and gasped.

"Uh yeah… How did you know?" Donna questioned. "Did he tell you?"

Jackie shook her head. "No but he did mention having a fiancée… I can't believe your marrying that weirdo. Is he blackmailing you or something? Oh, well I guess you wouldn't be able to say even if he was. You can blink twice if he's holding you against your will and I swear I won't tell anyone."

Jackie grabbed hold of Donna's arms and stared deep into her eyes waiting for the other girl to signal back to her.

Donna just laughed and shook her head. "Jackie he's not blackmailing me. Eric and I have been dating since we were 16 and we're in love. And he's not a weirdo… Well, he's not a huge weirdo, he's really sweet, you just have to get to know him."

Jackie flashed her a look of disbelief but nodded her head anyway. "I'll take your word for it."

Donna smiled. "So, is it weird being back here?"

"Totally… Point Place couldn't be anymore opposite to Manhattan, but the Formans have been really nice, and I suppose living here beats the other option."

Jackie eyed Donna to see her reaction, she figured if she was marrying Eric then he probably would have told her all about Jackie's family situation.

Donna nodded her head. "Yeah, I heard about your parents," she admitted, proving Jackie's theory right. "My mom ran out on my dad and I a few years ago so I get what you're going through."

This was news to Jackie. Back in New-York, she felt like such an outcast when her parents had abandoned her. No-one else could relate to her. But here she had already met two people, the same age as her, who had both been through something so similar.

The only difference was Donna still had a parent who loved her enough to stick around. Jackie and Steven were practically orphans.

Still it was nice knowing that she could talk to Donna about this stuff without judgement… Steven didn't really seem like the kind of guy who would sit and listen to her problems just because he could relate.

"Wow Donna, That's terrible." Jackie flashed Donna a sympathetic look, referring to the red heads good for nothing mother.

Donna nodded back. "Yeah, I was pretty bummed about it for a while. But I got over it and you will too."

She wasn't sure if she agreed with her. She couldn't imagine herself ever getting over her mother's abandonment.

"I guess so," she mumbled before suddenly getting an idea. "Hey… So, I know you probably weren't coming over here to hang out with me but, did you want to go to the mall or something?"

Donna flashed her a look that told Jackie she wasn't exactly interested in spending the day shopping with her. "Or I could paint your nails?" She offered instead, not really caring what they did. Anything would be better than her current situation and she was dying to give the girl in front of her a decent manicure.

Donna let out a small laugh. "How about we take a rain-check? Eric and I kind of have plans."

Suddenly, the sound of running footsteps echoed from inside the garage and both girls turned their heads to see Fez hurrying over towards them with a stack of fliers in his hand.

"Fez what are those?" Donna asked as her friend reached the two of them.

"Well, I'm glad you asked." Fez smiled before handing Donna and Jackie a flier each.

It was a missing persons flier for Laurie Forman. There was a black and white picture of the blonde girl in a bikini which looked like it had been taken without her knowledge and under the offered reward, he had put down 'candy and porno magazines'.

Jackie had learned all about Fez's marriage to Laurie Forman, last night. How they'd married to keep Fez from getting deported and how it was their marriage that had caused Mr. Forman's heart attack.

"Candy and Porn, Fez?" Jackie questioned the listed reward as she handed the flier back to him.

"Well I have no money, but lots of candy and porn which everyone knows, is just as good," Fez informed her with a grin and Jackie laughed. This guy had some twisted priorities.

"I thought Mrs. Forman said Laurie went to live with her friend in Chicago?"

"A lie! My beautiful wife would never leave me without saying goodbye."

Jackie had a feeling from what she heard about Laurie Forman, that that wasn't true.

Donna handed her flier back to Fez. "Well… Good luck finding her, Fez," she said as she turned to Jackie. "I'll see you later Jackie," she added before walking off into the Forman's house.

"So, it is just you and I left," Fez flashed her a big smile.

Jackie sighed, preparing herself for what she was about to do. "Need help passing those out?" She asked and watched as Fez rapidly nodded his head in response.

"Ai, this will be so much fun." Fez told her as he handed her half of the fliers he was carrying.

She supposed that there were worse ways to spend her day.

* * *

1 week later.  
The Basement.  
12.16am.

Hyde entered the basement through the external doorway after a long night working at the Holiday Hotel with Roy. Eric and Donna were on the couch making out, the sound of Hyde coming through the door causing them to spring apart in embarrassment.

"Why do you two gotta do that down here?" He asked as he looked over at his two friends with a grossed-out expression. This wasn't the first time he had caught them making out in the room that had become his living space.

"Hate to break it to you Hyde. But you don't own the basement," Eric pointed out, slinging his arm around his girl as Hyde stepped over their feet and sat down on his chair across from them.

Hyde sneered over at his pseudo brother. "Yeah well I'm sick of walking in on you two sucking face."

"Savor it while it lasts. Soon Donna and I won't be around, and you'll miss walking in on us making out."

He seriously doubted that.

"Yeah whatever man… Where's everyone else at anyway?" He changed the subject, it was a Friday night and normally the whole gang would be hanging out in here until Hyde kicked them out to get some shut eye.

"Kelso and Fez went to some singles party with Kelso's brother Casey… Kelso tried to rope Jackie into going by telling her that John Travolta was going to be there," Donna filled Hyde in with a laugh. "She saw right through him."

"Guess she's not as dumb as I thought," Eric stated to Hyde and Donna's surprise.

Since Jackie had arrived in their lives, she had been putting up a tough front, spending a lot of time with Fez, Kelso and even Donna. Eric still wasn't very fond of her, but she avoided him most of the time anyway. From the outside looking in, it seemed like she was completely fine.

But Hyde saw through her facade, he had gone through the exact thing that Jackie was currently going through, and she couldn't fool him as easily as the others. She was acting tough, but he knew sooner or later she'd crack, and the water works would start.

He just hoped he wasn't around when it happened.

Sure, he had spent some time with her since she arrived in town. It was hard to avoid a person who you shared a home with. Not that he was trying to avoid her like Forman was. She just wasn't as annoying as he imagined she'd be.

Yes. She was loud, she talked too much, and she cared too much about superficial things like makeup and clothes. But, she was also pretty cool when she wanted to be. Not that he'd ever tell her that.

Still, that didn't mean he wanted to deal with a crying Jackie.

"I think Eric is starting to warm up to her… She was hanging out with us for a while and he only called her the devil twice," Donna pointed out.

"That doesn't mean anything. I still can't stand her… And I don't like what's going on here," Eric pointed a finger back and forth from Donna and Hyde. "She's slowly winning everyone over and I can't wait to say I told you so why she shows her true colors… Which will be red."

Hyde looked at Eric with a confused expression.

"Because she's from hell."

"She's not as bad as you're making her out to be… You should cut her some slack, she's lost her family and she's just trying to fit in here. I think she's lonely." Donna stuck up for the petite brunette, it was a friendship that Hyde hadn't seen coming but he was glad Jackie had someone besides him to hang out with now.

Eric rolled his eyes. "That's what she wants you to think."

"Forman, you look like you could use a circle man," Hyde suggested, he was craving some circle time himself, but he mostly wanted to change the subject off of Jackie. And circle time seemed to be the perfect distraction, it was almost becoming a nightly ritual now for the group, at least since Red's heart attack. Hyde would get home from work and they would smoke up.

It was also great timing, because he had just restocked his stash and according to Leo's cousin (his new supplier since Leo skipped town), California pot was way stronger then the shit he'd been using, and he was excited to test it out.

"I really could," Eric agreed with a nod. "It's been a stressful day."

"Eric, you slept till noon. Then napped from 3 until I woke you up at 6," Donna reminded her fiancé.

"Yeah, sounds real tough," Hyde responded sarcastically as he stood up from his chair. "Hang on, left my stash in the Camino," he added before walking out of the basement, through the external door and up the stairs.

His car was parked on the street at the front of the Forman's, where it normally was. As he crossed the backyard towards the driveway, he heard a sniffling sound coming from the park bench which was situated in the middle of the backyard.

Looking over, he had to squint to see through the darkness, but he spotted a small figure sitting at the bench. Walking closer, he took off his shades and his eyes began to adjust to the darkness. Jackie was sitting at the bench crying.

"Ah crap."

* * *

Back in the basement, Eric and Donna had turned the tv on and were waiting for Hyde to return when Kitty came running down the inside stairs.

She was wearing her nursing uniform and her hands were full of dirty laundry.

"Sorry kids, I just have to put this laundry on. Don't mind me," she began to apologize as she frantically loaded the washing machine up.

"Mom, it's 12.30 at night… Why don't you just do that tomorrow?" Eric asked, looking over at his mother with concern laced through his expression. Kitty's hair was in disarray and she had dark bags under her eyes, she looked exhausted.

"Because Eric, I took a night shift at work and I'm running late already. If I don't get this done now, it won't get done until tomorrow and Red has no clean underwear left."

"Mrs. Forman," Donna stood up and walked over to older woman. "Let Eric and I do the laundry, we're going to be in here for a while longer anyway," she reached out and grabbed the remainder of the laundry from Kitty's hands.

"Oh… That would be really helpful. Thank you, Donna."

Eric hated seeing his mother like this, he knew she had been working hard lately but he had hoped now that Red was home, she'd relax a bit. But she was continuing to work herself to the bone and he was getting worried.

"Mom… You look tired. Are you sure you should be going into work?" He questioned.

"I have to… Night shifts are hard, but they're worth it for the money. And with your father not working right now, we need all the money we can get," Kitty informed her son, she reached out to cup his face in his hands. "Don't you worry about me. I'm fine."

Eric frowned, he knew she was lying to him, she wasn't fine, and she hadn't been fine for a while now. But he also knew when he was fighting a losing battle.

"Okay."

Kitty smiled at her son before turning back to Donna. "Make sure to separate the whites, sweetie. Well, I'm off. Don't stay up too late Eric!" She called back to her son as she left the basement and moved back up the stairs, into the house.

"Your mom is really struggling, huh?" Donna stated the obvious as she began loading the washing machine.

Eric sighed, leaning back into the couch and running a hand down his face. "Donna… I'm worried about her."

"I know… Me too."

"She's working 60 hours a week, looking after Red and on top of that, she does all the cleaning and cooking… Even with all the extra shifts she's taking, they're broke. Hyde told me the other day that mom asked to borrow money off him for the groceries."

"Eric…Your parents have been through tough times before. It'll work out, like it always does." Donna tried to be positive as she poured some laundry detergent into the washing machine.

"Donna… I don't think I can go to Madison."

* * *

Meanwhile, outside Hyde was dealing with a dilemma of his own.

Jackie hadn't spotted him yet as she was facing away from him. Which meant that he could still walk away and pretend he didn't see a thing, avoiding the unpleasant conversation all together.

But the idea of leaving her in the dark, crying alone was already filling him with guilt and he didn't think he could live with himself if he did that.

_Gonna regret this… _Hyde thought as he made his decision and slowly walked towards her. He cursed the gene inside of him that caused him to be such a sucker around crying chicks.

"Jackie…" He cleared his throat as he got closer to her and watched as Jackie's head whipped around to look at him.

She quickly wiped at her cheeks and looked away as Hyde came to sit down next to her. "What are you doing here?" She asked him, her voice was still shaky and up-close Hyde could see her eyes were puffy and her cheeks wet.

He wondered how long she had been out here crying for.

Choosing to ignore her question about him, he got straight to the point. "Jackie man… Why are you crying?"

It was lame, he knew that much. It was obvious why she was crying, but he wasn't exactly accustomed to consoling people. Especially crying chicks, who'd just been abandoned by their family and forced to live with people they barely knew.

A small sob escaped from Jackie's mouth and Hyde winced, feeling like he was doing more bad than good. "Hey, come on… It's gonna be alright."

Jackie hung her head so that her hair fell like a curtain around her face, successfully hiding herself from him.

"I'm sorry," she breathed out so quietly that he almost hadn't heard her.

What was she apologizing for? That she was crying? Or that he had been the one to find her like that? He had no idea, all he knew was that she had nothing to be sorry for.

"Don't have anything to be sorry for," he told her, dipping his head down low to try and catch her eyes. He had the feeling that he was royally screwing this up.

Jackie lifted her head slowly and made eye contact with him, his heart ached a little as he watched silent tears stream down her face. But at least she was making eye contact with him now.

"Why did she leave me, Steven? Why doesn't she love me?" Her voiced cracked as more tears fell from her eyes and Hyde wished he knew how to make her feel better.

Wished he had the answers for her.

Some people got lucky; people like Forman, who were given parents like Red and Mrs. Forman. Hell, even Donna – Bob was always there for her. Then there were people like Hyde and Jackie, who must have been dealt the shit deck of cards when they were born, because they were stuck with people like Bud and Edna for parents.

The type of parents who just left.

"Your parents don't deserve you, man," he told her, because it was true.

It was also the same thing he used to tell himself when he'd get bummed out like she was right now, but he'd never really believed it back then.

He believed it now.

"You deserve better than the crap they pulled on you."

"Maybe I don't… Maybe this is karma for being such a terrible person," Jackie said as she wrapped her arms around herself. All she had on was a sundress and it might have been summer, but the nights got cold in Point Place no matter what season. She was probably freezing in that get up.

"You aren't a terrible person, Jackie."

He'd met terrible people before and Jackie didn't come close. Sure, she was selfish at times, a little obnoxious, rude and pretty damn spoiled. But that didn't make her a bad person.

"You don't have to lie… You hate me," she said, and another sob escaped her mouth, she turned back away from him as if she were embarrassed.

Hyde stared at her, watching her cry for a moment and feeling awkward. He never had to deal with a girl crying like this before and he had no idea what to say to get her to stop. Should he hug her or something? He wasn't really a hugging kind of guy… but he'd do just about anything to get this chick to stop with the tears.

And where had she gotten the idea that he hated her? He'd thought he'd been acting pretty good towards her, considering the way he normally treated people who weren't in his small circle of friends.

"I don't hate you Jackie," Hyde told her as he slid across the bench seat to get a little closer to her. "You're… you're alright, man."

It was the highest form of compliment for Hyde.

And he meant it… She was alright. Aside from her flaws, he'd seen some good qualities in her over the past week that he'd been living with her.

Jackie seemed to appreciate his attempt at cheering her up, she turned back to face him, and Hyde spotted a small smile cross her face. "Thanks," she mumbled, sniffling before wiping at her damp cheeks again.

"I'm a disaster," she laughed as she continued to dry her face. "This is embarrassing."

"Don't worry… I won't tell no-one," he promised as he nudged her with his shoulder, trying to get her to smile again.

"Cool."

She was using Zen on him and she didn't even know it. He was impressed.

"It gets better you know…"

"It doesn't feel that way, right now," she sighed with sad eyes. "I feel so out of place here."

"Give it time, man… Look, you've only been here a week and you've already made some pretty cool friends."

"Are you my friend?" Jackie asked him, blinking up at him with those big eyes of hers.

He thought it was pretty obvious that he was talking about himself as well as the gang, but she apparently needed to hear him say the words. It was a trend he was noticing about her, she was always trying to get him talking.

Hyde sighed. "Yeah, Jackie. We're friends, okay."

She smiled at him and suddenly, it had all been worth the hassle.

"Okay," she nodded and pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, biting down on it. "Thank you, Steven."

There she went again, using his first name. Why the hell did he keep letting her call him by his first name?

Before he had a chance to respond, she scooted towards him, closing the small gap of distance they had between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Ah geez," Hyde muttered before awkwardly placing his arms around her and patting her on the back. He didn't do hugs. In fact, he hated hugs and avoided them at all costs.

Jackie had buried her face in his neck, he could feel her damp cheeks pressed against the crook where his shoulder met his neck and the scent of coconut shampoo wafted into his nose.

Normally he never allowed this kind of long embrace, but he figured he'd tolerate it just this once. He relaxed into the hug and closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her pressed against him.

And they remained like that, clung to one another, for a moment in time and it was… not horrible. In-fact it was kinda nice.

"You're being uncharacteristically nice to me," Jackie pointed out with a smile on her face as she pulled away. She kept her hands on his shoulders and her body close to his as she looked him in the eye.

"Guess you caught me in a good mood," Hyde shrugged, slightly uncomfortable that she'd called him out like that. He scooted a little further away from her on the bench seat so that her hands slid off his shoulders and they were no longer touching.

He found it was hard to think straight with her touching him like that.

"Well, I like you a lot better when you're like this," she admitted.

"Don't get used to it, kid," he told her as he stood up from the seat, suddenly remembering that Donna and Eric were waiting for him to get back.

Hyde still needed to get his stash out of the Camino, but he didn't want to leave Jackie alone. Not cause he wanted to spend more time with her or anything… But because he didn't want her to start blubbering again as soon as he left her.

"Come with me."

He made the quick decision to invite her into the circle, they were cool now and he was 90% sure that she wouldn't rat him out to the Formans.

Hyde began to walk off and could hear Jackie following him. "Are we going somewhere?" She asked from next to him a few moments later, eyeing the El Camino as they got closer to it.

"Just getting something out," Hyde informed her, reaching into his pocket to grab the car keys. On the days where he parked it out in the street, he always kept it locked up, not wanting to risk it getting pinched.

He unlocked the car and reached into the console where he grabbed out a brown paper bag. Closing the door shut and re-locking the car, he turned to face Jackie and shoved the bag into his pocket with his keys.

"What is that?" Jackie wondered, crossing her arms over her chest as the cool night air blew around them.

"It's pot… Or green paprika as Kelso likes to call it." Hyde grinned as he turned to head towards the basement, he turned back to look at her, still standing by the Camino. "Come on. Don't be such a square, man."

"I'm not a square!" Jackie whisper yelled, she obviously didn't want to wake anyone in the street up and be caught with him and a bag full of pot, which only further proved his point that she was in fact, acting like a square.

"Let's go Jackie!" Hyde raised his voice just to tick her off.

Jackie shushed him as she ran to catch up to him. "That's illegal, you know," she pointed to his pocket where his stash remained hidden.

"No way..." Hyde faked a gasp. "Look, you don't gotta do it if you don't want to. I'm just saying I think you'll like it," he told her as they crossed the backyard towards the basement stairwell.

"Is it dangerous?" She asked him in a quiet voice as they headed down the stairs.

Hyde turned to look at her, stopping both of them in their tracks. "Wouldn't be offering it to you, if it were dangerous, doll."

He wasn't sure where the nicknames we're coming from, but they felt right to him.

"Oh," Jackie blinked over at Hyde and he knew he had her.

"You in or you out?" He asked anyway, and a rush of excitement surged through his body. He decided then and there that he kind of liked being her bad influence.

Jackie paused and looked him right in the eye. She was on the stair above from the one he was on, which made her almost eye level to him and he found himself staring at her lips. For the first time since she arrived in Point Place, he thought about what it would be like to lean forward and press his lips to hers.

Cause man… She had perfect lips.

_As if she'd ever be into a burnout like you man. _He thought bitterly, lifting his gaze to her mismatched eyes.

And even if she was… Jackie wasn't the kind of girl you screwed around with a couple times. Jackie was the chick you dated, the chick you probably ended up marrying. And Hyde wasn't that kind of guy.

"For some stupid reason… I trust you," Jackie told him a moment later.

"Stupid decision really," he responded with a cheeky grin.

Jackie laughed and hit him lightly over the arm. "Let's just go," she smiled at him.

"Alright man."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Sorry about the super long chapter, I get a little carried away writing this story so you should probably expect most of the chapters to be pretty long... (But maybe you guys like that and I'm fussing for no reason?)**

**Anyway, I'm hoping you guys are liking the way Hyde and Jackie's relationship is progressing, It's going to be a bit of a slow burn for them but don't worry there will be plenty of cute/fun moments between the two coming up.**

**Please fav/follow if you like the story and don't forget to leave a review! Let me know what part of this chapter was your favorite.**


	5. Don't tell Eric!

Chapter 5.

The Pinciotti's living room.

Jackie walked through the Pinciotti's front door, followed by Hyde, Kelso and Fez. She gazed around at the blue living room, a frown formed on her face as she took in the tacky matching furniture.

Donna had summoned the gang over to her home, minus Eric to discuss something 'top secret' and it was the first time Jackie had been over to her new friend's house. Not to mention the first time she had been included as part of 'the gang'.

Since Steven had caught her in an extremely low (not to mention embarrassing) moment the other night, she had been feeling a lot better about her current, less than ideal, situation. And there could be many reasons as to why.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that she was beginning to feel like she was fitting in here or maybe it was because she'd finally managed to get on Mr. Forman's good side (they had spent the other day working on the Toyota together and the older man had been impressed with her knowledge, on top of her ability to hold/point a flashlight properly). Or maybe it had something to do with the circle time she had been partaking in with Steven.

Whatever it was, she was thankful for it and was beginning to feel like her old self again.

"Donna… We really need to talk to your interior designer. Blue walls with blue furniture are a huge no-no," Jackie pointed out as she walked around the large room, eyeing different pieces of furniture with a judgmental gaze.

Donna stood in front of the lounge set. "Jackie, we don't have an interior designer. My parents picked all this stuff out."

"Oh… It's nice," she said through a fake smile before heading over to the couches.

Jackie had been making a point to be a little nicer as of late. Her and Donna had been getting along in the past few days and she didn't want to ruin it. Despite her giant lumberjack qualities, she really enjoyed spending time with the red head and it was nice to have a girl-friend to hang out with when she got sick of the boys. She just wished Donna wasn't moving away for college in a weeks-time.

Kelso had sat down on the couch next to Fez with Hyde seated on the opposite end. The tall boy had spread out so that the four-seater couch now only had room for the current three occupants, making it impossible for Jackie to sit down. She stood in front of him and paused as he smiled up at her, patting his lap suggestively.

"Jackie, you can sit on my lap if you want… Best seat in the house," he flashed her a dumb smile as he continued to pat his lap.

Jackie scoffed. "I'd literally rather sit on the floor."

"Ah burn!" Fez snickered from next to Kelso.

She turned her head to the foreign boy, whom had really grown on her in the past week or so. She still thought he was a huge weirdo, but he made her laugh on the regular and after making strictly fake friends in New-York, someone who was genuine and could make her laugh was now all she looked for in potential friendships.

Plus, it helped that the boy basically worshiped her and always did what she asked of him.

"Fez move over," she told him, nodding her head in the direction of Kelso.

Fez scooted across, creating enough room for Jackie to take a seat in between himself and Hyde. Her arm pushed against Hyde's as there was little room left between the four of them. He shifted in his seat beside her, clearing his throat as he reached his arm up and over the back of her.

The move was innocent. He was barely touching her, most of his arm laid on the back of the couch, making it clear that the change in position was made strategically to create more room between the two and for no other reason. But her stomach had a mind of its own and refused to listen to logic.

Butterflies fluttered wildly inside her as the small gesture was made.

They were a fairly recent development that had been occurring regularly around the scruffy-older boy since their late-night conversation in the Forman's backyard. She had been trying to ignore them for days now, but they were just getting worse and every time she was close to him they resurfaced with a vengeance.

"Donna why are we here man?" Hyde wondered, looking up at Donna who remained standing in front of them. His sudden question brought Jackie back to reality and she pushed all thoughts of disconcerting butterflies out of her mind.

"I told you, I've got to talk to you guys about something," Donna reminded the group.

"And why couldn't you talk to us in the basement?" He questioned further, shifting uncomfortable in his seat and eyeing the blue living room carefully as if something were too jump out and bite him in any second.

"What's wrong with you?" Jackie looked at Hyde with a concerned expression, he was definitely acting weird.

He pushed his shades further up the bridge of his nose and shrugged at her. "Nothing, just... Bob makes me uncomfortable man. Every-time I see the guy, he makes a bee-line for me and never shuts the hell up. Trying to talk to me about his _issues_."

Jackie didn't know what Hyde meant about the man's issues, but she could understand what he meant by Bob making him uncomfortable. She had met Donna's father once or twice since she'd moved in next door. The older man was definitely eccentric and unlike anyone she'd ever met before. But even though he was a huge weirdo, she wasn't in any kind of position to judge anyone else's parents when hers were practically nonexistent. At-least Bob wasn't in jail and hadn't abandoned his only daughter.

Jackie still hadn't heard anything from her mother since she'd arrived in Point Place.

"He's not here Hyde so stop being such a baby," Donna scolded her friend. "Okay so," she began but was abruptly cut off when Fez leaned across Jackie to talk to Hyde.

"Hyde, you are forgetting Donna has cable..." Fez pointed out with a grin. "Which means, we may get to see flashes of brief nudity."

Kelso laughed. "Oh yeah! We can watch space boobs." He pumped his fists in the air.

"We aren't going to watch TV," Donna informed the group, eliciting boos from each boy. "Fine we can watch TV, but after I'm done talking!"

"Donna just tell us what's going on," Jackie suggested, crossing her legs as she waited for her friend to begin. She wondered if this had something to do with her impending move to Madison. Maybe she had changed her mind and decided to stay…

"Okay so as you all know by now, Eric has chosen to stay home and put off college for a year so that he can help out his parents," Donna began, and Jackie noticed a sad expression cross her face.

The couple had made the announcement that Eric would be staying behind, officially, the other day. Jackie had never seen anyone as happy as Mrs. Forman had been, Mr. Forman on the other hand was less than pleased about his son's decision. She got the vibe that Red wanted Eric out of the house sooner rather than later.

Then there was Fez and Kelso, who had barely reacted to the news. Jackie didn't love the idea of living across the hall from Eric full time, but she knew that him staying was the best thing for his family, so she couldn't really argue with him about it.

Donna had been acting strong, but Jackie could see right through her.

"I'm leaving for college in a week, which means we only have 7 days left before everything changes for the worst. Cause we all know you guys are nothing without me," she joked.

"Is there a point to this?" Kelso wondered, blinking up at Donna with a bored expression.

"Kelso... I've only been talking for like two seconds!" Donna scolded him, rolling her eyes. "Look it's also Eric's birthday the day I leave for college. I was thinking we have to do something as a group before then, that we'll remember forever."

Hyde groaned from next to Jackie. "Can't we just go to the water tower and get drunk like we always do?"

"We did that two weeks ago. This has to be special!"

"I do not want to go to the water tower anymore," Fez said quietly, shaking his head. "My ass still hurts from the last time I fell."

Hyde chuckled. "Occupational hazard man."

"It gets easier every time buddy," Kelso nudged Fez and Jackie wondered just how many times he had fallen on his head… It would explain a lot.

"You guys I already thought of the perfect activity that we could all do together… Something that doesn't include us falling from water towers onto our asses," Donna commented with a smile. "We're all going to…"

Pause for dramatic effect.

"God Donna just spit it out!" Kelso complained.

"Vanstock. We're going to Vanstock."

Jackie looked around at her new group of friends trying to gauge the reaction. She'd never heard of Vanstock before, was it some poor persons version of Woodstock?

Hyde shrugged from next to her. "Live music, drunk chicks and hallucinogenic drugs? Sounds alright by me."

"Oh boy, Vanstock! I bet our second time there will be just as magical as our first," Fez clapped his hands with excitement, instantly getting on board.

"Wait, I'm confused. What is Vanstock?" Jackie spoke up. Whatever it was, she could already tell she wasn't going to like it.

"It's like Woodstock but with Vans… And if it's anything like last year, a whole lot of drugs," Hyde filled her in, grinning widely at the last part.

"It's a music festival that goes for two days and this year it's happening right before Eric's birthday," Donna added to Hyde's less than thorough description.

Jackie nodded her head, she'd never been to a music festival before, she'd always thought they were strictly for hippies and burnouts, although she couldn't deny that it sounded like fun. Except for one aspect that is…

"Where would we spend the night? Is there like a hotel?"

"No, there's no hotels. Everyone just brings sleeping bags and camps out. That's what the Vans are for."

Camping? Donna wanted Jackie Burkhart to go camping?

"Ew. No, I don't camp," Jackie shook her head and scrunched up her nose. "There are like, bugs and serial killers in the woods…" Everyone turned to stare at her. "Think about it, every slasher movie ever made started off with high school kids camping in the woods."

"Don't worry Jackie. I'll keep you safe," Kelso commented from the opposite side of the couch.

His constant come-on's were beginning to get annoying. She didn't blame him, she was a beautiful woman but there was only so much one person could take. She'd told him she wasn't interested in 'taking him back', had rebuffed all his advances and still he kept trying.

She'd never met some who could be so patient yet impatient at the same time.

"I don't need you to keep me safe," Jackie told him sternly. "Anyway, you'd be the first to die. It's always the whores who get killed first..."

Kelso gasped loudly as Fez began to giggle uncontrollably.

"That was another good burn Jackie, well done," Fez spoke through his laughter while Kelso glared over at him.

"Stop laughing, Fez!" Kelso exclaimed, reaching out to frog Fez hard over the arm, successfully getting the other to shut-up.

"Jackie," Donna began, turning the rooms attention back to her. "You don't have to go if you don't want to."

Jackie thought about the offer but no matter how she looked at the situation, she'd be doing something that she didn't necessarily want to do. If she stayed home, she'd be alone in the Forman's house over the whole weekend but if she went with her friends she'd have to sleep outside in the dirt with hippies.

_Tough choices…_

"Yeah man… Cause helping Mrs. Forman clean out the attic is definitely the better way to spend your weekend," Hyde added a moment later and Jackie turned to face him, she could barely see it behind his shades, but she swore he had winked at her.

Either way, he had a point. Anything was better than cleaning out the Forman's attic. And it was kind of nice, knowing he wanted her to go with them. He'd implied as much, albeit in a backhanded way. But she'd take what she could get.

"Ugh fine, I'll go. But I swear to God, if we all get brutally murdered by an inbred man with a chainsaw, I am going to be so pissed!"

"But if we are all dead, how would you-" Fez started but Kelso cut him off.

"Who cares Fez, we're going to Vanstock! And hey Jackie, I've got a double sleeping bag so if you get cold."

"Not happening, Michael," she sighed. "But I got to say, your persistence is impressive."

"There's a lot about me that's impressive baby… You'll learn that if you share the sleeping bag with me."

"I'm out of here," Hyde abruptly stood up from the couch, cutting Kelso and Jackie's conversation short.

"Don't say anything to Eric!" Donna called out to Hyde as he walked out of her house.

Jackie paused for a moment, wondering why Steven had left so suddenly and where he could be going. She knew he wasn't working today, he had told her so much earlier that morning. Could it have been because Kelsos incessant come-ons were annoying him too?

Kelso and Fez were already rushing to turn the TV on, excited by the possibility of space boobs… Whatever that meant, and Jackie quickly decided she'd rather take her chances by following Hyde then staying here to find out.

"I'll catch you guys later," she mumbled as she stood up, but only Donna responded with a nod, Fez and Kelso didn't seem to notice her leave as their eyes stayed glued to the television set.

Jackie spotted Hyde crossing through the Pinciotti's and back into the Forman's driveway, she ran to catch up to him. Reaching out to grab ahold of his wrist when she was close enough. She pulled to get him to stop and he turned his head to look at her, a frown stretched across his face as he spotted her.

"What do you want Jackie?" He questioned her as she let go of her hold on his wrist. His tone was laced with annoyance and made Jackie feel a little nervous. Maybe he was getting sick of her being around all the time, but she couldn't help it that they lived in the same place.

Besides she liked spending time with him and she knew deep down that he enjoyed hanging out with her too. He'd just never admit it because he thought he was way to cool for chicks like her.

"I wasn't really up for space boobs," Jackie informed him, crinkling her nose up when she noticed how weird the sentence sounded. "I thought we could hang out… Maybe go to the Hub together?" She questioned, biting her lip nervously.

Why did this feel like she was asking him out? She hadn't meant it to seem that way, she was just hungry is all…

"I'm taking a nap, you can go to the Hub by yourself. Or go back to Donna's and watch cable. I don't care," Hyde told her, and Jackie frowned, was he rejecting her? How could he reject her when she wasn't really asking him out? He couldn't… but then why did she feel so rejected?

_This is ridiculous. _Jackie thought as she reached out, grabbing Hydes wrist again to stop him from walking off on her. "What's up your butt?" She questioned him.

"You."

"Ew."

Hyde rolled his eyes and scratched at his beard. "Jackie, I mean you're bugging me man… Why do you have to follow me around everywhere?"

Jackie shrugged, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Because we're friends," she told him simply. "At least, I thought we were friends," she sighed and looked down at the ground between them.

Hyde paused for a moment and Jackie knew that whatever she was doing, was working on him. A moment later and he let out a groan "Damn it, fine… You know how to play chess?"

Jackie smiled brightly, happy to have won even this small victory. "Not a clue," she admitted shaking her head.

Hyde stared down at her, Jackie was wearing flats that day so the height difference between them was larger than usual. She thought about how Steven was the perfect height for her but then quickly shut down every other romantic thought that followed. Including her leaning up on her toes right now and him bending down to meet her half way in a soul crushing first kiss.

Because Hyde wasn't her type… He was dirty, poor, wore concert tees and had a beard. Besides even if she did admit that she was into him (theoretically!), he wouldn't be interested in her. He thought she was annoying, self-centered and spoilt.

Cheerleaders and burnouts didn't end up together.

"I'll teach you… Come on," he motioned his head in the direction of the basement and the two of them began walking side by side towards the stairwell in the backyard that lead down to the basement.

"Hey Steven," Jackie began a few moments later as they reached the basement door. "Do you think Donna is really going to leave for college without Eric?"

Hyde opened the basement door, letting Jackie walk in before him.

"Not a chance."

"She seems pretty convinced," Jackie added as she watched Hyde walk to the back of the couch and search through the shelving unit where the Formans stored all their board games and other miscellaneous items.

"She's in denial man," Hyde responded as he grabbed the chess board down from the top shelf. "I'd bet money on it."

"Well I hope she stays," Jackie admitted, sitting down on the couch and kicking her shoes off.

"Why? Annoying the crap out of just me isn't enough for you?" Hyde joked as he set the chess board down on the small coffee table in front of the couch, before dragging his chair closer so that he was opposite from where Jackie was seated.

"You know what I think?"

Hyde huffed in response as he set up the pieces on the board in front of him.

"I think you actually like hanging out with me," she smiled and tucked her feet up underneath herself to get comfy.

He looked up at her through his sunglasses as he set down another pawn on the board. "You're crazy."

She smirked, he could deny it all he liked but she knew she was right. "All I'm saying is, you're teaching me how to play chess when you could be taking a nap like you wanted. You chose me over sleep!"

"No, I didn't. Just didn't feel like having a nap anymore. And I haven't taught you anything yet cause you keep yapping."

Jackie shrugged, deciding to drop the subject for now and Hyde began to teach her the basics of Chess. Their first game was a disaster, Jackie had no idea what she was doing, and Hyde had won without even trying. The second game ran a lot smoother, he'd actually forfeited a win in order to teach her some strategic moves and she slowly started to understand the point of the game.

They were in their third game, Hyde was winning but Jackie had made some good moves of her own, without his help. Led Zeppelin played softly in the background and the sound of light rain echoed from outside, other then that the basement was quiet.

It was when Jackie moved one of her rooks forward that the Forman's house phone began to ring, sounding through the basement. Jackie sat up straight, turning her head to the interior stairs. Mrs. Forman would probably answer the phone, but Jackie was waiting for a call from her mother.

She hadn't heard from her since their last conversation in New-York and was expecting her to call any day now. A few moments passed, the ringing stopped, Hyde made his move, but Mrs. Forman hadn't appeared at the top of the stairs to tell Jackie she had a phone call.

Her mother hadn't called.

She shouldn't be sad, she knew it was a long shot, knew her mother probably wouldn't call for another week or so, if at all. But still, every time that phone rang, her heart pounded, and she crossed her fingers that it was Pam.

"Jackie, it's your turn," Hyde prompted her.

Jackie looked from the chess board up to Steven. She was losing and there was no chance she'd win, the only reason she'd won the last game was because he had forfeited and spent most of the game making her moves for her.

Suddenly she didn't see the point of continuing, not now that she had other things on her mind.

"Steven… When was the last time you heard from your parents?" She wondered, sitting back on the couch and eying him curiously. She didn't expect him to answer, knew he hated talking about his parents, but she took a shot anyway.

Their experiences with abandonment were so similar, she just needed to know if her hopes were in vain. Maybe she shouldn't be expecting to have a relationship with her mother after everything that went down.

Hyde took off his shades, hooking them onto his shirt. "Last heard from Edna a week before my 18th birthday. Haven't heard from Bud since he skipped town, 2 years ago," he answered and surprised her.

It hadn't been the answer she wanted but at least he was being honest with her. He was 19 now, so it had been over a year since hearing from either of his parents and the thought made her angry.

He was waiting for her to reply, a look in his eye that was neither of sadness or anger like she would have expected. He'd obviously come to terms with the fact that he no longer had any relationship with his parents and was probably cool with that.

Jackie wasn't like him, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to get over something like that. If her mother didn't call, didn't even want to check up on her only child every other week, she thought it could possibly destroy her.

"I-… I haven't heard from my mom yet," she admitted after a long pause.

"You expecting to?"

"She told me she'd call after I 'settled in'," Whatever that meant. "I've been here for over 2 weeks now and she still hasn't called," how much time did her mother want to give her?

"Well, if she's anything like Edna. She's probably too busy fucking truckers and binge drinking wine out of a box, to call."

Jackie winced at the bitter tone in Hyde's voice. His mother sounded like a terrible woman. And even though she was 99% sure Pam wasn't too busy to call because she was sleeping with truckers, she knew he was probably closer to the truth then he thought.

"If you change truckers to rich French men and tequila, you'd probably be right," she admitted sadly.

"Your mom a drunk, too?" He questioned a second later.

"She doesn't think so, but drinking 2 bottles of wine a day isn't normal…" She'd never admitted to her mother's alcoholism out loud before, but for some reason it felt right to now.

"And you still want her to call?"

Jackie shrugged. "She's my mom…"

"Yeah…"

She sighed and sat forward on the couch to lean over the chess board again, trying to focus on the game at hand. She no longer wanted to think about her mother, or his shitty one.

If Pam called, she called. If she didn't… Well Steven had told her that she deserved better and maybe it was time that she listened.

She made her next move, successfully taking down one of his knights. The best move she'd made without his help, since they'd started to play.

"I'm sorry your mother is such a whore," she told him with a sympathetic smile as he moved his knight off the board.

Hyde chuckled, but his laugh missed its usually carefree tone. "Thanks doll…"

"Did I do good?" She pointed to the chess board, changing the subject to something much lighter.

"Yeah. You're coming along nicely."

They smiled back at each other and Jackie relaxed as Hyde took his time to make his next move. Maybe he had a whore for a mother, and maybe hers was selfish. But at least they had each-other.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! And thank you to everyone who has fav/followed or reviewed this story so far.**

**Next update will be the beginning of Vanstock 2.0 !**


	6. Vanstock (In My Mind)

Chapter 6.

Vanstock day 1.  
The Forman's driveway.

"Woo Vanstock!" Eric shouted as he crossed the driveway, a backpack and a sleeping bag in hand with a big smile on his face. Donna had filled him in earlier that morning about their plans and Jackie had never seen someone so excited to go camping (of all things).

"This is the best surprise ever," Eric continued as he reached the group. Jackie was standing by the garage, joined by Steven, Donna and Mrs. Forman. They were waiting on Michael to arrive, he was the one with the van and their official ride to the festival but of course, he was running late.

"Eric honey, did you remember to pack an extra pair of underwear?" Kitty began.

Eric groaned back. "Yes mom," he mumbled, his cheeks turning bright red. His mother's over-bearing ways were clearly a source of embarrassment for the boy, but Jackie knew first hand that an over-caring mother was a hundred times better than one who didn't care at all.

Eric didn't know how lucky he was.

"Now Jackie," Kitty started, surprising Jackie. She turned to face the older woman, spotting a look of concern on her face. "I want you to be safe at all times. I promised your mother I'd look after you and if anything happens to you I would just be devastated."

Pam had never cared what her daughter did back in New-York or even where she was. Jackie remembered back to a week where she hadn't come home at all, she'd stayed at a friend's the full week and her mother hadn't even noticed that she was gone. Now Mrs. Forman stood in front of her, visibly concerned for her safety when she was only going to be away for 1 night.

The stark difference was upsetting, and she wasn't used to the consideration, but she supposed it was a nice change from the alternative.

"Mrs. Forman, you don't need to worry about me. I'll be fine," she smiled to reassure the woman.

"I know you can look after yourself… But just promise me that you won't drink any alcohol, and don't take anything from anyone! Better yet, just don't talk to any strangers at all… Oh and stay close to Steven if you can."

It was sweet that Mrs. Forman wanted her to stay close to Steven, as if he would be able to protect her from anything bad that could happen. Jackie wasn't 100% sold on the notion but she didn't think sticking by him was a horrible idea either.

"Okay Mrs. Forman," she agreed to appease her.

Hyde was talking with Eric and Donna a few steps to their left but had seemed to overhear the girls' conversation. He suddenly turned to face the two of them and grabbed hold of Jackie's elbow, pulling her gently to the side and away from the others.

"Jackie, you better not follow me around everywhere when we get to Vanstock," he warned her with a stern voice and Jackie huffed, placing her hands on her hips. She was getting sick of him pretending that he didn't actually enjoy the time they spent together.

"Steven, Mrs. Forman says that you need to look after me."

Hyde groaned, letting go of his hold on her arm. "Jackie man, you don't get it… Vanstock's a great place to meet chicks and I can't have you sticking to me, scaring away all the hot ones."

Jackie frowned, she didn't like the idea of Steven hooking up with random girls. Especially when it meant he'd be ditching her to do it. And she didn't get it, he had told her not long ago that he wasn't into dating. So why would he be more interested in meeting girls then hanging out with her and their friends?

"But you told me that you don't date," Jackie pointed out.

Hyde looked at her as if she had missed the point that he was trying to make. "Who said anything about dating? You don't date chicks at Vanstock, you love em' and leave em,'" he said the last part with a big grin on his face.

Jackie gasped and reached out to smack him across the arm. "You're a pig," she told him.

"Finally, you're learning," he responded, and she rolled her eyes.

"Kelso's here!" Donna exclaimed as Kelso's van pulled up into the Forman's driveway, a full 30 minutes late.

Donna began walking off to meet Kelso and Fez by the van. Jackie picked up the single bag she'd managed to fit all her clothes into (thanks to Donna's help) before following after Steven and Eric.

The three headed towards their friend's van when they were stopped by Mr. Forman who was at the porch by the kitchen.

"Alright," Red began, giving the three teens a moment to prepare themselves for whatever was coming next. "Dumb-ass number 1," he turned to Eric. "Don't do anything stupid. You've got my last name, you embarrass yourself, you embarrass me."

Red turned to Hyde. "Dumb-ass number 2," he pointed his finger at the curly haired teen. "Make sure dumb-ass number 1 doesn't do anything stupid. And look after Jackie."

"Yes sir." Hyde nodded his head, looping his thumbs into his pot leaf belt buckle.

"And you," Red turned to Jackie and paused, giving her nerves plenty of time to grow. "Here," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a 20-dollar bill. "You'll need to pay for food up there, use this."

Jackie smiled, relieved by the surprising turn of events.

"What? Why does she get money and we don't?" Eric complained as Jackie took the cash from Mr. Forman.

"You got your own money. Now stop whining or you'll be going to Vanstock with my boot in your ass," Red threatened, giving Eric a serious look. His son didn't respond but Steven's chuckle broke through the silence that followed.

"Classic foot in the ass joke, Red," Hyde grinned at Mr. Forman while Eric glared over at him.

"Get the hell out of here," Red ordered.

Steven and Eric turned to leave while Jackie leaned forward to give the older man a peck on the cheek in goodbye. "Thank you, Mr. Forman," she smiled up at Red before following after the two other boys who were heading towards the rest of their friends.

When she reached the group by Michael's van, she quickly noticed an older boy and girl, whom she'd never met before, standing together by the back of the van. Michael stood next to the two, helping Donna load her bags into the back.

"Kelso, I don't think we're all going to fit anymore," Donna mentioned, eyeing the two new comers.

"Who are they?" Jackie whispered to Fez, who had moved to stand next to her.

"That is Kelso's older brother Casey and his girlfriend Jessica… She gives me tingles."

Jackie rolled her eyes, everyone gave this boy the tingles.

"What are they doing here?" She questioned further. The trip was supposed to be just the 6 of them, throwing in Michael's brother and his girlfriend seemed like something she should have heard about earlier.

"They are just catching a ride into Vanstock with us," Fez responded.

Jackie looked over at the newcomers, the resemblance between the two Kelso brothers was now clear, he had the same facial features but was slightly shorter than his younger brother was. Jessica (who was cuddling up close to Casey and in turn marking her territory), was the height of Donna, with long blonde hair and dressed in a mini skirt and belly top.

"Stop worrying Donna, we'll fit… It'll just be a tight squeeze," Kelso informed the group. Jackie investigated the back of the van and could tell just by looking that there was no way 8 of them would fit comfortably.

Steven seemed to pick up on the same thing. "It's cool, I'll just follow Kelso up in the Camino," he offered.

Jackie smirked, spotting an opportunity to bug Hyde, which had become one of her favorite hobbies in the past week. "I'll go with Steven," she told the group, to Kelso's disappointment and followed Hyde as he walked towards the El Camino, parked in the street.

Hyde sighed as she fell in step beside him. "Of course," he muttered in annoyance and Jackie smiled.

"Couple of rules, doll. My car, my tunes. I'm not listening to ABBA and the Captain and Tennille all the way to Vanstock."

Jackie couldn't understand why Steven hated her music so much, what was so wrong with ABBA? Everyone loved ABBA, he was in denial.

"Fine," she shrugged, it was a small price to pay and she was willing to concede if it meant not having to ride up to Vanstock in a confined space with Michael Kelso.

Hyde threw his bag into the back of the Camino and then reached for hers.

"And no talking," he added as he placed her bag in the bed of the car for her. "2 hours of your nonstop jabber will drive me insane."

Jackie frowned. "No talking? What are we supposed to do for 2 hours?" She wondered as the two moved to get into the Camino. He was delusional if he thought he could get her to shut up for that long.

"I'm gonna be driving, I don't care what you do."

Hyde opened the drivers-side door and Jackie stepped inside first, scooting down the bench seat. "You can't ban me from talking," she pointed out as he sat down behind the wheel.

"Fine, then you can be in charge of directions."

"Yippee," she muttered sarcastically.

She supposed things could be worse, as Steven handed her a large map with their route highlighted. And anyway, he would perk up once they were on the road, she just knew it. Maybe she could even get him to play her favorite radio station once he relaxed a little.

Hyde turned the engine on and right as he went to put the Camino in drive, the passenger-side door swung open to reveal an out of breath Fez.

"Move down," he said to Jackie, forcing her into the middle of the bench seat as he jumped into the car and closed the door behind him in a hurry.

"Fez, what happened?" Jackie wondered as she looked over at Fez, who was breathing loudly next to her.

"Kelso's brother might have caught me staring at his girlfriend's wonderful breasts."

"That'll do it," Hyde nodded his head.

"What are you waiting for? Step on it, Hyde!"

"Alright man relax."

"Great, so Fez… You can be in charge of the directions," Jackie handed him the map and turned her head to stick her tongue out at Steven.

* * *

2 hours later.  
Vanstock.

Hyde parked the Camino next to Kelso's van. They had arrived at Vanstock and Jackie was officially impressed, the venue was huge with 3 main stages and a plethora of food trucks littered in-between. They had ended up in a large open area of the festival where everyone was parking their vans and setting up their campsites. Despite the thousands of other people who had arrived before them, the group had managed to find a decent sized area for themselves to set up camp.

Jackie exited the Camino after Fez and followed the two boys over to Michael's van where the rest of their friends were waiting for them.

"This is so great!" Donna smiled, full of excitement as she stepped out of the back of the van. "We're in such a good spot," she added looking around the bare space in front of their cars. "We should lay out our sleeping bags and stuff so that no one steals our spot."

Jackie grabbed hold of Donna's hand. "The boys can do that Donna, I need to go the bathroom," she'd been busting to go to the bathroom for an hour now. Steven had offered to pull the car over, so that she could go by the road but there was no way that that was happening. Burkhart's didn't pee in public.

"Fine, let's go midget."

* * *

As the two girls walked away together to find a bathroom, Hyde stood by the van and watched as Kelso pulled out a sleeping bag from the back. "Hey Hyde… Jackie's sleeping bag," he commented with a smirk as he held up the small sleeping bag.

"So?"

"So, I'm gonna hide it," Kelso told him with a chuckle.

"What the hell for?" Hyde wondered with a confused expression, he knew it would have something to do with the guys plan on seducing the petite brunette, but he had no idea how her sleeping bag fit into said plan.

All Kelso's attempts to hook up with Jackie had failed so far but he showed no signs of easing up and Hyde wasn't sure whether to be impressed with his friend's persistence or to be embarrassed for him.

"Tonight, when she can't find her sleeping bag… She'll have no option but to share my double with me. And then we'll finally get it on. Cause everyone knows you can't be in the same bed as someone without having sex."

Hyde shook his head at his friend and watched as Kelso walked away to hide the sleeping bag somewhere.

"Can't argue with that logic man," he muttered sarcastically and paused to contemplate warning Jackie. He could tell her about Kelso's plan to give her a forewarning, but was it necessary? The plan was sure to fail anyway.

He figured keeping Kelso's secret would be a lot more fun for him to watch. When it backfired, he couldn't wait to see Jackie unleash her wrath.

"Okay," Eric clapped his hands together as he walked over to Hyde with Fez in tow. "What should we do first? Go listen to some music? Or start up a quick circle?"

"No, we should eat first. Fez is hungry," Fez rubbed at his stomach.

Hyde shook his head, he already had plans of his own. "I'll catch up with you guys later. Got a date with some LSD," he rubbed his hands together with a smirk. Some of his buddies from his old neighborhood were at the festival too and they always had the best shit.

"You're ditching us already?" Eric asked, obviously not happy. "At least stay for a circle."

Hyde shrugged, reaching into his pocket to pull out his stash. "Here," he handed the brown paper bag to Eric. "Go nuts," he didn't need it where he was heading. "Just don't let Jackie smoke too much, she's a rookie and that's strong shit, she'll get high as fuck from one puff."

He remembered the couple of times she'd been in the circle with them, she'd gotten so high that she was laughing like a hyena at every little thing. He thought it was kind of cute, but if he wasn't gonna be around while they smoked, he'd rather be safe then sorry. Specially since Red and Mrs. Forman had put him in charge of looking out for her.

"Whatever," Eric couldn't care less as he shoved the brown paper bag into his own pocket.

"Thanks man… I'll see you guys later," Hyde hit Forman on the back before walking off to go and find his other friends. They had a flag up in their campsite with Bob Marley's face on it, so it should be easy to spot them.

Hyde ran into Kelso, coming back from where-ever he had hid Jackie's sleeping bag, just outside of the gang's campsite. "She's never gonna find it now," he smiled dumbly at Hyde as they passed each other. "Tonight's the night man," he added, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Hyde rolled his eyes. "It's not gonna work man," he told his friend. Jackie wasn't as dumb as Kelso thought, she was going to work out that he was the one who hid her sleeping bag as soon as she noticed it missing.

"Will so, Hyde!" Kelso fought back.

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Will not, Kelso," he argued back before spotting something interesting on the ground next to them. He grinned and bent down to pick the item up. It was some girls lost halter top.

He lifted the shirt into Kelso's face. "Looks like some things never change," he chuckled, remembering the last time they had came to Vanstock and he'd spent most of the day trying to reunite the random topless chick with her lost shirt.

Kelso snatched the flimsy top out of his hands. "Alright, man I love Vanstock!" He cheered. "Hey Hyde, want to help me find the topless girl?" He asked, claiming the shirt for his own.

Hyde didn't care. "She's all yours buddy."

* * *

Meanwhile.  
The bathrooms.

Meanwhile, Donna and Jackie were leaving the bathrooms, which had ended up just being a row of portable toilets (to Jackie's horror).

"Well that was the most disgusting place I've ever been," Jackie muttered to Donna as she wiped her hands repeatedly onto her denim jeans.

"Oh, just wait till you see the bathrooms at your new school," Donna responded with a big smile and Jackie hoped to God that she was kidding.

"Oh my God, ew!"

"Relax Jackie, I was just joking," the red head laughed but Jackie didn't think it was very funny.

"Come on, I think we're this way," she added as she pointed aimlessly in a direction and the two began weaving in and out of campsites trying to find where they had come from.

The stench of marijuana hung in the air as the two girls continued forward.

Jackie sniffed the air and joked, "smells like Steven's around here somewhere". She'd come to notice the scent followed Hyde around where ever he went, she was surprised the Formans hadn't picked up on it.

Donna laughed and nodded her head. "He's definitely in his element here," she agreed before eyeing Jackie oddly. "You and Hyde have been joined at the hip lately. I mean you basically jumped at the chance to ride up here with him… Anything going on there?"

Jackie bit her lip nervously, no there wasn't anything going on with her and Steven, but the question still made her uneasy.

"No Donna, I just didn't feel like being squashed inside Michael's gross van for 2 hours." She responded, stepping carefully over a boy who laid passed out on the ground.

"Right," Donna paused. "So, you aren't like, into Hyde?"

Jackie stopped and turned to face Donna, they were sandwiched between a van styled to look like the mystery machine from Scooby-Doo and another that had a giant bong painted onto it.

"Donna, Steven and I are just friends."

She wondered why Donna had chosen this moment to question her about her feelings for Steven. Sure, she'd chosen to ride up to Vanstock with him instead of the rest of the group. And yes, she'd been hanging out with him, but she'd also spent a lot of time with Fez and Michael over the past 2 or so weeks.

Why wasn't Donna asking her about them? Was Jackie putting out some sort of vibe when she spent time with Steven? She'd thought that maybe he had been slightly flirty with her at times. Had Donna noticed it too?

"Sure, Jackie."

Donna went to walk forward but Jackie grabbed hold of her arm to stop her.

"Why?... Do you think, that Steven- I mean, do you think he's into me?" Jackie stuttered out, trying to make it seem like she didn't care either way.

Donna smiled back at her, a cocky look on her face like she had been right all along.

"Well I mean, he has seemed slightly less pissed off then normal," Donna admitted, and Jackie frowned, not really sure what to take from that. "But, you aren't really his usual type," She added.

Jackie scoffed. Not his type. She was Jackie Burkhart, she was every guys type.

Well whatever, if he wasn't into gorgeous, sophisticated women like her. It was his loss.

"Whatever, it's not like I care anyway."

Donna laughed. "Oh my God, you totally care. You are so into him!"

"No, I don't and no, I'm not!" Jackie argued back. "He's so not my type, either."

"So, what is your type?" Donna wondered, folding her arms in front of her. "Guys like Kelso?"

Jackie turned her nose up at the idea of dating Michael Kelso. "No, not guys like Michael…" She paused to think about it for a second. Technically she had dated Michael before, if you counted holding hands in the fourth grade.

"Okay well maybe guys who _look_ like Michael. But personality wise, totally not."

She normally liked to play it safe in her dating life. She dated the good boys, the rich boys and the quarter backs. She'd never gone down that whole 'bad boy' path. The thought just never appealed to her. But then again, she'd never met a bad boy like Steven Hyde before.

"Okay look. Just in-case you're lying to me, and you are into Hyde. I'll give you some advice." Donna began and paused, as if waiting to see if Jackie apposed. Jackie blinked up at her and waited for her to continue, figuring it couldn't hurt to hear out what she had to say.

"Hyde's a complicated guy. He's never had a relationship before. His experiences with the opposite sex revolve around an abundance of one-night stands, totally a no strings attached kind of guy."

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Donna how is that advice?"

She knew all this stuff already, Steven didn't date and even if he did, he wouldn't date girls like Jackie.

"Just listen, midget," Donna warned her, and Jackie shut her mouth. "The only female friend that Hyde's ever had, is me. And that's only cause we've known each-other since preschool. He doesn't hang out with other girls unless he's boning them. The fact that he's spending so much time with you, willingly, has to mean something."

Jackie couldn't keep quiet, there were some major plot holes in her friend's theory. "We live together it's not like he could avoid hanging out with me."

"Trust me, if he wanted to avoid you, he definitely could. Anyway, Hyde's an easy-going guy, so my advice to you is play it cool. High maintenance isn't his thing and he hates being told what to do."

"Donna, I'm bossy and I'm high maintenance. I'm not going to change myself for some guy. I'm not Olivia Newton-John and this isn't Grease."

"Whatever. This was just hypothetical anyway, cause you and Hyde are just friends. Right?" She raised an eyebrow.

Jackie shrugged uncomfortably. "Exactly."

* * *

Meanwhile.  
The campsite.

"Ah Vanstock."

Eric smiled as he openly stared at the two girls in the campsite across from theirs, who were making out with each other pretty-heatedly.

"Eric, I think this is the happiest day of my life," Fez commented from next to him, intensely staring at the same view. "Oh no, do not stop now," he groaned in annoyance as both girls pulled away from each other and began walking off, hand in hand.

Eric laughed and got back to unrolling his sleeping bag, positioning it right next to the one he had just laid out for Donna.

"Donna has got to be like the best fiancée ever."

Fez nodded, still staring off in the direction that the two girls had disappeared into. "Yes, she is… why is she with you again?"

"I'm serious Fez," Eric ignored his friends burn and continued. "I mean, she surprised me with this trip to Vanstock for my birthday. She supports me staying home from college to help my family out even though it ruined our plans of moving in together."

"You are a lucky man," Fez agreed, as he sat down on one of the logs they had found by the Camino.

They'd rolled a few logs into the middle of their campsite, circled around a small space where they planned to build a fire later that night.

"Man… I'm really going to miss her when she leaves," Eric admitted sadly, as he sat on a log across from Fez. He'd been trying not to think about how much it was going to suck when Donna left town, but as the day crept closer and closer, it was almost impossible not to think about it.

"And everybody knows long distance relationships don't work," Fez informed him, and Eric frowned at his friend's pessimistic opinion.

"Just ask my wife."

"You and Laurie aren't in a long-distance relationship Fez."

"Is she here?" Fez asked Eric with a blank expression.

"Uh no, she's in Chicago."

"Exactly! Therefor, we are in a long-distant relationship… And it is not working," Fez shook his head sadly.

"Fez, no offence but my relationship with Donna is nothing like yours and Laurie's. We're going to be fine," Eric said but doubt filled his body. Fez, although not the best person to go to for relationship advice, did have a point. Long-distance relationships were hard, and most ended badly.

"Even if I wasn't sure we'd be fine… Which we will! It's not like I could ask her to stay," Eric rambled on, cutting Fez off before he had the chance to respond.

"Wait, should I ask her to stay?" He continued. "No… I can't do that to her," Or could he?

"Do you think she'd stay if I asked her too?" Eric looked at Fez expectedly.

Fez looked around quickly, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. He reached into his pocket and pulled a sandwich bag full of candy out. "Here Eric, have some candy. It always makes me feel better."

Eric groaned, he didn't want candy, he needed advice. But it looked like he'd have to wait until Hyde came back and who knows when that would be? And Donna would be returning any minute now, he needed something to stop himself from ruining things.

He stood up and walked over to the cooler where they were keeping all the beer. "Fez, put your candy away. We're getting drunk," he told his friend, grabbing two beers out and throwing one to his friend.

It wasn't much of a plan, but it was all he had.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! **

**Vanstock part 2 coming next week where we'll find out how Eric and Kelso's plans work out... **


	7. Lost and Found

Chapter 7.

2 hours later.  
The Campsite.

Eric's plan to get drunk had sufficiently stopped him from ruining things with Donna. An impulse urge he got on the regular and in turn had to consciously act against. Which is where the drinking came in.

He knew if he brought up what was playing on his mind, he'd say something stupid or beg Donna to stay and then they would argue, which would definitely ruin Vanstock for the both of them and probably for the rest of their group too.

He just needed to make it through this weekend and then he could talk to her about his concerns once they got back. Whether he'd ask her to stay or not, he was still unsure of. He needed advice and the one person who he'd trust to steer him in the right direction still hadn't come back to camp yet.

"Eric, don't you think you should slow down?" Donna wondered, she was perched next to him on a log and was watching him carefully as he downed another beer.

"Yeah Eric, save some for the rest of us," Jackie scolded him from the other side of the campfire where she sat, sharing a log with Fez. She'd been sipping on the same beer for an hour now and Eric knew she'd only need another 1 or 2 before she was done for the night.

But he also knew she'd take any opportunity to berate him.

Before he had the chance to tell her off, Kelso came running into the campsite and everyone turned to face him. It was the first time the group had seen him in hours.

"You guys!" Kelso shouted as he reached the group, completely out of breath. The group watched impatiently as he took a moment to try and catch his breath, bending his head down between his legs and wheezing.

Eric grabbed a beer out of the cooler (which he'd strategically placed directly beside him,) and waved the can to get his friends attention. "Here," he added right before throwing the drink over to Kelso.

Unsurprisingly he caught it with ease before standing up straight, cracking it open and chugging the entire contents in less than 10 seconds. When he was done, he smiled and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Guess what?" He started.

"If this is about those two girls who are going around and making out with each other, don't bother. We've already seen them," Donna guessed.

"What? Oh man I missed out on lesbians?!" Kelso groaned in annoyance.

"Michael, just tell us what's going on," Jackie urged him on.

"Oh yeah," Kelso lifted up a pink halter top that Eric was only now noticing he'd been holding the entire time. "I found the topless chick!"

"Nobody say anything. It's about boobs, it's always about boobs," Jackie warned the group.

"Why didn't you give her shirt back to her?" Donna questioned anyway.

"Did you see boobs?" Fez asked eagerly.

Eric just kept drinking.

"No… Unfortunately, she was wearing a bra," Kelso responded to Fez. "Now guess who the topless chick was."

Donna groaned. "Just tell us you dill-hole!" She yelled impatiently.

"It was Laurie!" Kelso cried with laughter. "Yeah, she's not in Chicago, she's here man. And she's walking around without a shirt on."

Eric froze, trying to figure out how he felt about the news of his sisters sudden return back into their lives. He knew his parents would want him to find her and try convincing her to come home but he'd rather not have to speak to the little she-devil. Besides, he had bigger fish to fry right now.

As he made the mental decision to stay out of his sister's affairs, his friend Fez had seemingly came to a different conclusion.

Fez stood up from the log and walked over to Kelso, snatching his wife's shirt out of his friend's hand. "Laurie is here?" He questioned.

Kelso nodded. "Yeah man, I ran into her during _Heart's_ set at Stage 2."

"Did she ask about me?"

"I don't know man, she saw me, then hit me when I wouldn't give her shirt back. Then I ran here to tell you guys about it," Kelso told his friend, who promptly stormed off. "Fez, where are you going?!"

"To find my whore of a wife!"

* * *

10 minutes later.  
Stage 2.

Fez arrived at Stage 2, just as _Heart _began to perform their hit '_Barracuda_'. He clutched onto the pink halter top as he pushed through the large crowd, looking for his wife.

It didn't take him long to spot her in the middle of the crowd. And that was only because she was sitting on top of someone's shoulders, causing her to stand out above the rest of the crowd.

Fez mustered up all the courage he had and used his elbows to push through the mob, which was getting thicker and fuller of people as he got closer to the stage.

As he reached Laurie, he noticed that Kelso was right. His wife was the topless girl, she had a red lacey bra on and denim cut off shorts, but she looked as comfortable as ever as she scream-sung the words to '_Barracuda_'. Trust Laurie to be so nonchalant in front of thousands of people in only her underwear.

Fez glared at the man underneath her who remained oblivious to his presence, his hands were grabbing onto Laurie's bare thighs as he supported her weight, too busy looking up at the blonde perched on top of his shoulders to notice the angry foreign boy next to him.

He reached up with his free hand and grabbed hold of Laurie's wrist, pulling down to get her attention.

"Fez!" Laurie exclaimed as she finally noticed him. "What do you want?"

"Laurie, get down! We need to talk," Fez shouted, the loud music coming from the stage was making it hard to hear even his own voice.

Whether Laurie was having the same problem or not, he couldn't tell. She didn't seem to care what he was saying. "Go away Fez," she said before turning her attention back to the concert happening in front of her.

Fez reached up to tug on her arm again, but the guy holding up his wife pushed him backwards before he got the chance. "She said go away man," he warned him.

Fez wasn't ready to leave, he had questions that he needed answers to. Sure, they had only gotten married so that he could stay in the country, but she was still his wife, and this wasn't how a wife should treat her husband!

"Laurie!" Fez called out again, watching as the blonde groaned and looked down at him.

"What?!"

"Why did you leave Point Place? Was it because of me?"

Laurie furrowed her brow as her eyes focused on the item he was clutching in his hands. "Is that my shirt?" She questioned, spotting the halter top.

She reached out for the garment, but Fez moved it behind his back so that she couldn't grab it. The top was the only bit of leverage he had against her and he wasn't going to give it up that easily. Plus, he didn't think she deserved her top back, by the way she was acting.

"Laurie we are married now, and I think that you should come back to Point Place so that-" he started to confess his feelings, but Laurie promptly cut him off.

"Stop! I only married you as a favor and look what good that did. My dad had a heart attack Fez!... You aren't really my husband and you can't tell me what to do. Just, go away!"

She yelled, and Fez took a step back, he'd never seen Laurie get this mad about anything before. He had thought that because they were married, it meant that she cared about him, even if it was just a little bit. He knew he had feelings for her and hoped they had been reciprocated but it turns out he had been completely wrong.

"You heard her. Get lost," the guy next to him reached out and pushed Fez backwards.

Fine, if she didn't want to talk to him, then he didn't want to talk to her.

As he left, pushing his way back through the crowd, he thought he heard her shouting out something about the return of her shirt. But if she wanted it, she'd have to come looking for him this time.

Because he was done being the only one who cared about their marriage.

* * *

Meanwhile.  
Somewhere in Vanstock.

Kelso had ventured off again, this time in search of the bathrooms. During all the excitement, he had neglected his need to use the toilet and now he was busting. He'd reached the portable toilets just in time, and as he reopened the door, ready to leave, he came face to face with a beautiful, tall brunette woman.

She was next in line to use the bathroom, but he stood in front of the door, blocking her from entering.

He'd been at Vanstock for a few hours now and all he'd managed to get done was find Fez's wife, it was about time he worked on finding a girl for himself. And this girl was the hottest he'd seen all day.

Smiling, he leaned against the cubicle and turned on the charm.

"Well, hello there beautiful," he smirked at the brunette. "I'm Kelso, but you can call me Michael."

He liked his women to call him by his first name.

"What's your name?"

"It's Brooke," Brooke responded, but looked less than impressed. "Now can you move? I really need to use the restroom and you're holding the line-up."

Kelso peered behind the girl, there were two pissed off looking ugo's behind her, but they would just have to wait their turn.

"So, Brooke… Beautiful name for a beautiful girl," Kelso continued on. "You know, we're probably the best-looking people here."

Brooke rolled her eyes, not interested in his pick-up lines but Kelso loved a chase. "That's debatable," she said.

He frowned. Did debatable mean what he thought it meant?

"Debates are for nerds," he stated simply, thinking of that weird class they used to have at high school where two kids would get up in front of the class and argue about things that Kelso had no idea about.

"Just move so I can get into the bathroom."

Kelso grinned, an idea entering his mind. "How's about I go in with you and we can do what comes naturally, baby?" He took his shot.

Brooke reached out to grab onto Kelso's shirt and for a second, he had felt like the luckiest (and sexiest) man in the world. But instead of pushing him into the bathroom with her, like he expected, she pulled him out of the way and entered the cubicle on her own, slamming the door shut in his face.

Oh well, can't win them all.

* * *

2 hours later.  
The campsite.

"You ruined everything Eric!" Donna's voice bellowed through the campsite.

Jackie was sitting by the fire, uncomfortable on her own as Donna and Eric fought by Michael's van. She was trying to figure out when everything had went wrong, and pin pointed the moment to when Fez had wandered back into the camp earlier.

He hadn't said anything to anyone when they had asked him about whether or not he had found Laurie, but he was still clutching onto her shirt, so Jackie thought at first that maybe he hadn't. Of-course that opinion changed quickly as Fez began to drown his sorrows in drink after drink with Eric.

Now Fez was laying down on his sleeping bag, a few feet away from her, sleeping off all the alcohol he had consumed. While Donna and Eric continued to argue 10 feet away. Michael, the lucky one, had left the group before everything turned to crap.

Jackie hadn't wanted to leave with him at the time, choosing to stay with Donna, a choice she deeply regretted now.

"This was supposed to be a chance for us to have fun before I left! And you can barely stand! Do you not care that I'm leaving in 2 days?!" Donna continued to yell but there was no response and Jackie suddenly realized that she hadn't actually heard Eric say anything in a long time.

She stood up from her spot and peered around the other side of Kelso's van, where she spotted the couple. Eric was leaning against the van with his eyes closed as Donna stood in front of him, looking angrier then Jackie ever expected to see her.

"Eric!" Donna yelled after her fiancé didn't respond.

Jackie watched in horror as Eric suddenly sprung back to life, only to turn to his side and throw his dinner up onto the side of the van.

"Ew," Jackie quickly looked away and began to walk in the opposite direction from the arguing couple.

The sky was growing darker now, and with night settling in she knew walking off on her own wasn't the best decision, especially after having consumed one too many drinks herself. But she couldn't stay at the campsite any longer.

She'd spent all day in the same spot, watching her friends get drunk and make a mess out of the trip (and their lives). It hadn't bothered her so much when she'd missed watching most of the bands play, as this kind of music wasn't really her scene. But the headliners were due to start playing any minute now and tipsy Jackie desperately wanted to dance.

So, as she snuck away from the safety of their campsite, she made a plan to listen to the set and get her groove on. Maybe she would even find Michael in the crowd, or better yet, she'd run into Steven and then he could help her find the campsite after the concert was over.

Sure, she was drunk. Yes, it was dark, and she was alone in a place filled with thousands of drunken teenagers. And okay, it was possible that Mr. and Mrs. Forman would kill her for wandering off from the group like she had. But, she'd cross that bridge when she got to it and as for now all she wanted to do was listen to music and dance.

Damn it, she was going to dance.

The headlining band was playing at Stage 1 - the biggest stage by far, which was positioned at the opposite end of the large open venue. Finding the right stage wasn't an issue for her, as everyone was heading in the same direction and all she had to do was follow the masses.

20 minutes after leaving her friends, she'd managed to procure a spot at the very front of the crowd. Her small stature had made it easy to get through the mob without being noticed. She was so close, that if it weren't for the barriers put up to protect the band from screaming fans, she'd have been able to touch the stage.

She only had to wait a few more minutes before the band ran out onto the stage and the crowd roared in excitement.

During the beginning of the concert, she managed to make friends with the people standing near her (they loved her pretty hair and outfit and she loved that they noticed her hair and outfit. They became friends instantly,) and spent the next 45 minutes dancing and singing at the top of her lungs.

Maybe Vanstock wasn't so bad after all.

By the time the set was over, and the crowd was clearing out, Jackie's high on life (and alcohol) was wearing off. Her stupid new friends had disappeared somewhere, and Jackie couldn't for the life of her remember what direction she had come from.

She picked a random path and headed off into the camping area of the festival. It was now fully dark, and the only light around came from small camp fires, other people's torches and the occasional van's headlights.

She'd been wandering around aimlessly in the camp grounds for who knows how long, refusing to admit to herself that she was completely and utterly lost, when someone approached her.

"Hey gorgeous, you lost?"

He was a tall boy, a few years older than her with a familiar look about him. She had to squint to see through the darkness but as he stepped closer towards her, she recognized him as Michael's older brother Casey.

He had ridden up to Vanstock in Michael's van and then left the moment they had arrived at the festival, so she hadn't had a chance to properly introduce herself to him. She wondered if he recalled her now as his hand reached out to grab hold of her wrist.

"Um, I'm just heading back to the others," she muttered.

Looking around she noticed that the two of them were alone, wedged between a tent and the back of someone's van, blocking them from view of anyone else around.

"I can help you look for them," Casey continued, sliding his hand up her arm and leaning closer into her.

She had no idea if he remembered who she was, but all she knew was he was making her extremely uncomfortable and she didn't want to be around him another second.

"That's okay… I know where I'm going," a lie, but he didn't need to know that. Besides, she'd rather look for her friends on her own then with him.

Casey's grip tightened around her wrist and she could suddenly smell the stench of alcohol on his breath.

"Why don't you hang out with me for a little while?" He asked her, taking another step closer to her. Obviously, he'd forgotten all about the girlfriend he had arrived here with.

Jackie shook her head and backed away. "I have to find my friends… I've been gone for a while and they're probably worried about me."

If they'd even realized that she had left.

"Come on now… You're a big girl, you can do what you want."

"I want to go find my friends," Jackie responded in an angry tone, trying to shake his hand off of her but he wasn't budging. "Let go of me now," she said through gritted teeth.

"Alright, relax," he dropped his hold on her and held both hands up in surrender. "I like a feisty woman… I'll see you around Burkhart," he chuckled, and Jackie frowned as she watched him walk away.

His name-drop had proved that he did in fact, know who she was, which only made the situation that more unnerving and suddenly Michael Kelso's harmless pick up lines didn't seem so bad in comparison.

She shook her head, turning in the opposite direction that Casey had left in and began the search for her friends once again. As she stepped around yet another van, she spotted a familiar curly haired figure walking off in the distance, hand-in-hand with a shorter unrecognizable girl.

"Steven!"

* * *

**So... I had initially planned for Vanstock to be 2 chapters long but as I was writing them out, the story just kind of took on a life of it's own and now there's going to be about 3-4 chapters worth of juicy Vanstock related content. **

**I know this chapter was a tad on the shorter side and had little to no Jackie/Hyde moments but don't worry, next weeks chapter will definitely make up for it. We'll get to see what Hyde's been up to all day, the return of an old friend and the aftermath of Eric and Donna's fight. **

**Please don't forget to leave a review and let me know what your favorite parts of this latest chapter were!**


	8. Oh, What a Night

Chapter 8.

10 minutes earlier.  
Somewhere in Vanstock.

Hyde hadn't realized how late it had gotten until he looked up and noticed the sky had grown dark. He'd found his old friends easily after he'd left the rest of the group and had spent the remainder of the day in a blissful drug induced haze.

He didn't know exactly what he had taken, but he knew that whatever it was, was fucking good. He briefly recalled watching some band or other play earlier on in the day, then after that everything had gone black.

He'd broken out of the haze only 30 or so minutes ago after waking up from a nap. When he awoke he found himself perched in a camp chair, inside some other group's campsite (he didn't know any of them, but they seemed to know him,) and he couldn't recall how he'd gotten there but he did know that it was time he got back to his real friends.

He hadn't expected to be gone for so long, they must be wondering where the hell he was.

Forman better not have smoked all his stash, and he better not have gotten Jackie too high. There was no way Hyde was going to cop shit from Red and Mrs. Forman if something happened to her cause their son couldn't follow simple instructions.

As he was began heading back to where he remembered the groups campsite being, he heard someone calling out his name. Turning in the direction the voice had come from, he spotted a familiar chick in a biker jacket and leather pants coming towards him.

"Chrissy?" Hyde squinted his eyes, trying to see through the extra darkness his shades produced and work out if what he thought he was seeing was actually real and not just some strange hallucination.

It wasn't until the figure approached him that he believed his eyes. She was real. The girl he'd lost his virginity too and almost ran off to New-York with, was actually here and standing right in front of him.

"Hyde, how you doing?" Chrissy wondered, in her usual 'couldn't care less' tone.

Hyde took a moment to take her in and realized that she looked different from how he remembered her.

Sure, she was still good looking in a traditional sense and had a great rack. But this time around he found her to be kind of, unremarkable.

Still, she had been an alright lay… And he'd been gone from the group this long, what was another 20 minutes?

"I'm good, man," Hyde responded with a grin, not bothering to ask how she was.

"That's a great beard," Chrissy pointed out the obvious and Hyde nodded his thanks, it was his experience this last summer that chicks loved the beard. It wasn't the reason he had grown it out, but the perk was a welcome one.

"I've never made out with a guy with a beard," she reached out to scratch her nails through the facial hair on his jaw line.

Hyde grinned. "Looks like today's your lucky day," he told her and watched as she moved her hand down to grab ahold of his own.

"No… It's your lucky day. Or did you forget how good I am?" Chrissy asked and pulled on his hand, leading him towards where he assumed her set up was.

She was alright. To be honest he'd had much better since her. But she didn't need to know that.

"Whatever. Just gotta make this quick. Got people waiting for me," he muttered.

"That's cool," she responded, giving him the same zen tone that he always used.

Jackie had been the only other chick to use zen on him and he remembered thinking at the time that it had been kind of sexy, but with Chrissy he just thought it was annoying.

He wondered what the hell that was about but tried not to investigate into it any further. Those thoughts only lead to thoughts that were just… Creepy and unnatural.

Plus, he was about to get laid, he should be focusing on the chick in front of him not the chick-

"Steven!"

The chick who was calling out his first name?

Hyde stopped walking, causing Chrissy's hand to drop from his. He turned his head to look in the direction he thought he had heard Jackie's voice coming from and began searching through the dark to spot the petite brunette.

"What are you doing?" Chrissy asked, grabbing hold of his hand again and pulling. "My tent's this way."

Hyde shushed her harshly, shaking her hand off from his as he spotted Jackie running towards him with a relieved look on her face.

They weren't anywhere near the others. What the hell was she doing out here alone?

"Steven, thank God," Jackie reached him and instantly threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Hyde responded by loosely wrapping an arm around her back while she buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"Jackie, what the hell are you doing out here alone?" he asked her quietly, Chrissy was still standing next to him and for some reason he didn't want her listening into their conversation. He also didn't want Jackie noticing her, the thought of the two girls meeting made him uneasy.

"I got lost," Jackie cried as she pulled away from him. "I'm so happy you're here! I just wanted to go dancing and I went on my own which I know I shouldn't have but Eric and Donna were fighting, and Fez was passed out and Michael left to go find some girl named Brooke and you hadn't come back yet."

She was rambling on breathlessly and he worried for her health.

"Jackie, your gums are doing that thing again where they don't stop flapping. Just slow down man." Hyde reminded her, but instead of the usual annoyed tone he used with her, his tone was full of concern.

She'd been out here for who knows how long, alone in the dark, looking the way she looked, most likely drunk off her ass. Anything could have happened to her.

Hyde was going to kill Forman.

"Sorry," Jackie apologized and took a deep breath in, her hands still placed on his shoulders. "I'm just so glad I found you," she blinked up at him and Hyde could only guess how scared she must have been before she'd ran into him.

He opened his mouth to respond when Chrissy cleared her throat loudly from next to them.

He turned to look at her. "Are we still having sex or what?" She asked him bluntly and Hyde cringed, he didn't want Jackie knowing that he was on his way to get laid.

Jackie's hands slipped off his shoulders and she took a step away from him.

Hyde looked back and forth from the two girls in front of him. He could abandon Jackie and have sex or he could take Jackie back to camp, make sure she was safe and spend the rest of his night alone in his sleeping bag.

Surprisingly to Hyde, the choice wasn't a hard one to make.

"I'll catch you around man," he nodded his head to Chrissy, not ever expecting to see the girl again.

"Your loss Hyde," Chrissy shrugged, not seeming too fussed either as she walked away from the two.

He wasn't disappointed. There would always be other chicks but if he left Jackie now and something happened to her, Red would shove his foot so hard up his ass that Hyde would be tasting leather for a week. He also wasn't sure if he'd be able to forgive himself for something like that.

"Steven… I'm sorry I ruined it," Jackie began, crossing her arms over her body like she did when she was feeling insecure.

Damn, he was spending too much time with this chick.

"Whatever Jackie don't worry about it," Hyde brushed it off with a shrug. "I was heading back to camp anyway."

"Did you just meet her?" Jackie questioned, biting her plump bottom lip. Hyde's lips tingled in response as he watched her.

He shrugged, not wanting to talk about Chrissy anymore. "Doesn't matter," he told her. "Come on… You were heading in the wrong direction, doll. Camps this way," he nodded his head in the opposite direction she had come from and began to lead them towards their campsite.

"So, Forman and Donna were fighting?" Hyde asked her after a moment of silence, he wanted to change the subject off Chrissy and it was the first thing that had come to mind.

"For so long… Eric got really drunk and started talking about how it wasn't fair that Donna gets to go to college without him and she just blew up," Jackie explained, and Hyde could imagine how that whole scene would have played out. It couldn't have been pretty.

No wonder she had left the camp on her own.

"Doesn't surprise me… Forman's great at digging himself into a hole."

"Yeah, he dug to China and Donna's burying him there," Jackie joked, and Hyde laughed, impressed by her wit. "So… What were you doing all day?" She asked him a moment later.

Hyde ran a hand through his hair, trying to decide whether to tell her the truth or to make something up.

"Met up with some old friends," he told her simply, for some reason he didn't want her knowing that he spent most of the day in a drugged-out haze and that he couldn't remember anything he'd actually done.

Luckily, she seemed to accept his response. "Well… You left me in the middle of World War three," she joked. "I was actually looking forward to hanging out with you today."

He turned to look at her with a curious expression and watched as she blushed under his gaze.

He couldn't work this chick out, just when he thought he had her pin-pointed as a giant pain in his ass, she pulled out this side of her. He was beginning to think she had split personalities.

But whatever was wrong with her, he decidedly liked this side of her.

"We could hang out now," he shrugged, turning his attention back in front of him as they continued to weave in and out of tents and vans.

"It's like 2 in the morning," she pointed out.

Hyde laughed at her. "What, you got somewhere to be?"

He imagined that she must have lived a pretty boring life back in New-York, never breaking curfew and always doing the right thing according to society. He liked the idea of showing her a different way of living. His way of living, wild and free would probably look really good on her.

She looked back at him with an odd expression, as if she were also trying to work him out. "No, I guess not… I just can't believe you turned down a sure thing, just to hang out with me."

Hyde frowned. He _had_ just turned down a sure thing for her. What did that mean? He'd never done that for anyone else before.

"Yeah well… I've been there already. Sex wasn't that great," he told her uncomfortably, hoping she would just drop the subject. He didn't want to talk about Chrissy anymore and even more, he really didn't want to talk about sex right now.

"Oh. I thought you only slept with the same girl, once. Love em' and Leave em' right?"

Hyde had no idea where she was getting these ideas from. Sure, he'd said the last part to her, but she was filling in blanks about him that weren't right at all. Yes, a lot of the chicks he'd been with had been strictly one-time things, but he didn't limit himself to those kinds of rules and labels.

"Depends on the girl, man."

"Right. If they were good or not."

Hyde sighed, stopping the two of them. He didn't want to talk about this, but he also didn't want her getting the wrong idea about him.

"No man… Look, if I'm into the girl and she's into me, and we're having fun. I wouldn't be against messing around for longer. But-" man this was fucking awkward. "Why are you asking me about this crap?"

"I'm just interested," she shrugged, making eye contact with him.

"In my sex life?"

"No," she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned, he raised his eyebrows up at her, not buying it. "Okay well yes. But not for the reason you think."

What was the reason he thought? Cause she was jealous of his sex life? Or because she was interested in sleeping with him, herself? The thought sent a surge of excitement through his body that he had to try hard to ignore.

This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to talk about sex with her, now his thoughts were heading down that creepy and unnatural path.

"So, why are you interested then?"

She paused, and Hyde felt his throat close up in anticipation.

"Because… I've- I've never-" she was stuttering, pausing between words as if she was embarrassed.

Hyde bent his head down so that he could look directly into her eyes. "Never, what?"

"Ugh, never mind," Jackie huffed before walking off on him.

Hyde watched after her for a moment and tried to put two and two together. Could it be that she was so interested in his sex life because she'd never had sex before? Her possible virgin status was something he definitely shouldn't want to know about, but he couldn't help himself from chasing after her.

"Wait Jackie… We're you just telling me that you're a virgin?" He asked her in a quiet voice as he moved in front of her so that she couldn't run off on him again.

She looked embarrassed and was avoiding his gaze. "I shouldn't have said anything…"

He wasn't sure whether he agreed with her or not.

The idea that she'd be a virgin, had never even crossed his mind. Considering how freaking hot she was, on-top of the fact that she'd had at least two serious boyfriends back in New-York (she'd told him so much). How the hell had she never had sex before?

And why was it so fucking hot to him?

"It's not like I've never done anything," she suddenly informed him as if she needed him to know that she wasn't completely innocent. "I mean, I've just never done _that_ before…"

The thought of her hooking up with some rich preppy boy sent a strange feeling through his body. Was he jealous that she had gotten to third base with those guys? _No, no way_. It wasn't possible, Hyde didn't get jealous over chicks.

They just needed to stop talking about this before he did or said something he'd regret later.

But he couldn't stop himself. It was like word vomit, spilling out his mouth before he had the chance to stop it.

"Why not?"

She bit her lip again and Hyde's jaw tensed, the action was a small one but every-time she did it, he itched to lean down and kiss her and tonight was no different.

"I guess I've just been waiting for the right guy…" She was looking at him as if he were that guy, or some kind of knight in shining armor.

Fuck. They had to stop talking about this. Cause' he was no knight and he definitely wasn't right for her. If she was waiting for the love of her life, she'd have to keep looking because he'd only disappoint.

"Yeah well… Good luck with that man," he muttered before forcibly removing himself from the dangerous conversation. He walked off and left her standing, dumbfounded, behind him. He knew that she would follow him, but he needed a minute to cool off before he could be around her again.

The whole conversation about her virginity had turned him on and briefly he thought about going to find Chrissy again. He could look for her after he took Jackie back to the camp, fuck her and get all thoughts of Jackie and sex out of his head.

But was it right to screw someone else while thinking about another chick? He'd never sunk that low before and he didn't think he wanted to become one of those guys now. Besides, he knew it wasn't really Chrissy he wanted.

The rest of the walk back to camp was shrouded in silence as Jackie trailed slowly behind him. When they arrived back at the site, he spotted Kelso carrying a limp Eric. He headed towards the two, glad to have something else to focus on, instead of the dirty thoughts that were currently filling his head.

"Kelso, what the fuck happened to Forman?" Hyde asked as he walked over to them, he reached down to wrap Eric's other arm around his shoulders so that the two boys were both holding him up.

Kelso laughed, and Eric groaned loudly. "He's been chugging beers all day. I came back here, and he was passed out face first in the dirt."

"Where's Donna?" Hyde asked, looking around the camp site. Jackie was now walking around, probably looking for her sleeping bag and Fez was asleep in his own by the fire, but Donna was no-where to be seen.

"She crashed in the Van," Kelso informed him.

"I ruined it, Hyde," Eric finally said, keeping his eyes closed.

Hyde nodded. "Yeah, I heard buddy… Let's get him to the Camino," he told Kelso and the two began leading their friend towards his car.

He could crash in the bed of the Camino for tonight and sleep off all the booze.

"Hey Hyde… Are you thinking what I'm thinking man?" Kelso questioned a moment later as they reached the Camino and placed Eric down into the bed. Kelso was eyeing the bag full of Jackie's crap with a big smile on his face.

Hyde knew what he was thinking, it wouldn't be the first time they'd put Eric in a dress after a long night of binge drinking. It had been funny every other time and Jackie had enough clothes packed to last her a full week, she wouldn't miss one dress.

Hyde pulled Eric up into a sitting position as Kelso began to rummage through Jackie's bag. "Here we go little guy," he tried not to laugh as they began to dress his oblivious friend in one of Jackie's stretchy peasant dresses.

* * *

Jackie couldn't believe the night she was having. On top of completely embarrassing herself in front of Hyde by putting her foot in her mouth and telling him she was a virgin (seriously, why did she do that?), she now couldn't seem to locate her sleeping bag.

She was convinced the reason she had brought up her sex life (or non-existent sex life) had nothing to do with the dirty urges she may or may not feel towards Steven but more to do with the inordinate amount of alcohol she'd consumed that day. So, all she needed to do now was sleep it off and pretend her last conversation with Hyde had never happened.

Which would be a lot easier to do, if she could find her stupid sleeping bag! She knew she'd brought it with her, had seen Eric load it into the back of Kelso's van with his own but it was now no-where to be seen.

And suddenly it was all so obvious to her.

"Michael!" Jackie stormed over to Kelso and Hyde who were coming back from the Camino with amused expressions on their faces.

"Busted," she heard Hyde mutter.

"What did you do with my sleeping bag?" She placed her hands on her hips and stared the tall boy down.

"Good luck man," Hyde slapped Kelso over the back and left the two alone.

Kelso flashed Jackie a look like he had no clue what she was talking about, but Jackie knew better. "I don't know what you're talking about Jackie… Why, is it missing or something?"

Jackie rolled her eyes, he was quiet possibly the worst liar she had ever met. "I'm not doing this Michael. Just give me my sleeping bag back."

Kelso attempted to hide the laughter bubbling up his throat but was failing miserably. "Jackie, I really have no idea where your sleeping bag could be."

"Oh my God, Michael! I just want to go to sleep, give me it back!"

She had had enough of the Kelso brothers that night, why had they chosen to bother her when there were literally thousands of other girls around this festival?

"Sorry Jackie, I can't help you," he shrugged and continued to play dumb. "But hey, if you want… I brought a double sleeping bag, I'd be happy to share."

This was his plan all along, he'd hidden her sleeping bag figuring she'd just give in and end up sleeping with him!

Jackie groaned loudly, cutting Kelso off. "I'd rather sleep in the dirt!" She shouted in his face. "Michael, you're on a time out for the next 24 hours. I mean it, do not come near me at all otherwise I won't be responsible for what happens!"

She stormed off before Kelso even had the opportunity to react. She sat down on one of the logs by the fire and glared over at Michael, watching as he retreated into the back of his Van.

"Great," Jackie muttered sarcastically a moment later, it looked like it was going to be a sleepless night for her.

Steven was rolling out his own sleeping bag on the opposite side of the fire, a few feet away from where Fez laid asleep in his. She watched him carefully and wondered if it was worth asking…

"What Jackie?" Hyde's voice rang through the campsite, he must have noticed her staring at him.

"Stupid Michael hid my sleeping bag," she told him from the other side of the fire.

Hyde let out a small chuckle, to Jackie's annoyance. "Yeah, I know."

Jackie huffed. "You knew?... Do you also know where he put it?"

"Sorry, doll. Can't help you there," he apologized as he circled around the fire and sat down on the log next to her.

Jackie let out a frustrated groan. "How do you hang out with him? He's so annoying."

Hyde laughed at her frustration. "Don't let him get to you… Kelso's persistent, but he's also got a short attention span. Wait it out and he'll move on to some other girl."

"That's easier said then done… In-case you haven't noticed, I've got no where to sleep now because of that doofus!" She exclaimed, getting upset.

Hyde simply shrugged back, keeping his eyes on the dissipating fire in front of them. "Could be worse," he stated.

Jackie doubted it. "How?"

"I don't know man," he turned to face her. "Aren't you supposed to be the optimist here?"

She rolled her eyes and tucked her knees up to her chest. "Whatever, Steven. I'm mad at you anyway," she told him in a childish tone that she normally reserved for her daddy only, but she couldn't help herself. She'd been having such a bad day and all she wanted to do was go to sleep and now she couldn't even do that.

Hyde laughed at her. "You're mad at me?" He repeated, and Jackie glared at him coldly. "Not my fault you got no-where to sleep princess. Think dingus over there is the one you should be blaming."

"You knew he hid it, which means you probably saw him taking it and you didn't stop him. So, no I think it's justifiable for me to be mad at the both of you."

"Whatever, Jackie. Have fun sleeping in the dirt," he muttered as he stood up from the log they were sharing.

Jackie panicked and quickly shot up. "Wait," she reached her hand out to grab onto Hyde's wrist. "I really don't want to sleep on the ground and I'm so tired."

"What do you want me to do about it."

Jackie inhaled deeply, her gaze moving from Steven's sleeping bag to the man himself. This could be a terrible idea, especially after the weird conversation they had had earlier but she couldn't sleep on the ground with all those bugs, she just couldn't.

"Share your sleeping bag with me."

"Hell no," he turned her down straight away.

Jackie frowned. "But Steven, you owe me!"

"I don't owe you anything."

He wasn't budging, she had to pull out the big guns.

"Please?" She flashed him her famous pout while running her hand up and down his arm lightly.

Hyde paused and stared at her, his eyes darting from hers to where her fingers were trailing up the sleeve of his jacket. She had no idea if this was going to work on him, but the pout had worked on her father every-time, not to mention her old boyfriends back in New-York so it was worth a shot.

"Fine!" He groaned after a long pause and Jackie smiled triumphantly. "You're a pain in the fuckin' ass, I hope you know that."

She honestly didn't care, just happy she had somewhere warm to sleep now.

"You're going to get like, so much good karma for this Steven, thank you." She leaned up to kiss him softly on his cheek, his beard tickled her slightly, but it was a feeling she could definitely get used to.

"Yeah, whatever," he mumbled, wiping at the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him. "Just get in the freaking sleeping bag and go to sleep," he added as he began to remove his denim jacket.

"Okay."

Jackie contemplated going to get dressed into something more comfortable, but all she had brought was a short night gown and although she looked great in it, it would probably just make things more uncomfortable between the two and she didn't want that. So, she decided to stay in her jeans and frilly white peasant blouse.

Steven seemed to have come to the same conclusion, as he was getting into the sleeping bag in his own jeans and concert tee. Jackie slipped her shoes off and climbed in after him, laying down next to him.

It wasn't as roomy as the double sleeping bag with Michael probably would have been, but Jackie didn't really mind so much being pressed against Steven, even if it was a tad awkward. She'd never been this close to him before for such a long amount of time. But at least this way she wouldn't have to worry about waking up to Michael's morning wood pressed against her back.

Jackie turned onto her side, trying to get comfortable as Hyde remained on his back behind her. They were sharing the single pillow he had brought for himself, which meant all she had to do was turn her head and she'd be face to face with him. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't tempted to do so, but Steven hadn't given her any sign, that he was interested in her and Jackie Burkhart never made the first move.

So, she remained facing away from him and tried to ignore the butterflies fluttering around her stomach as she focused on falling asleep.

"Goodnight, Steven," she whispered into the dark a moment later.

"Night Jackie," his rough voice answered back, and soon later Jackie drifted off to sleep. Dreaming of what it would be like to press her lips against his and feel his strong hands roam over her body.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!  
**

**Vanstock is sadly almost over but this story has only just begun! We've still got a long way to go so i'm very glad ya'll are loving it so far.  
**

**This chapter is an important moment for our favorite couple, they're both starting to realize that what they're feeling for each-other is more than just friendship, which means we can start getting into the good stuff... Next weeks chapter includes one of my favorite scenes that I've written so far and you definitely wont want to miss it!**

**As always please don't forget to leave a review (tell me all about your favorite moment or what you'd like to see in the next chapter) and fav/follow this story for update notifications. **


	9. Freakin' coconuts man

Chapter 9.

Vanstock day 2.

"Eric, what the hell is a matter with you?!"

The sound of Donna's angry voice rang through the campsite early the next morning and began to stir Jackie awake. The sleeping bag she was sharing with Hyde had slipped down her body in the middle of the night and she could feel the cold morning air against her skin.

As the initial grogginess of waking up began to wear off, she noticed her head was no longer resting on the pillow but something hard instead and she could feel someone's even breaths, tickling the hair at the top of her head.

She opened her eyes to find herself face to face with Steven, only inches separating the two. One of his arms had found its way underneath her head and she was now using it like a pillow, while the other lay casually over her waist, keeping her warm and holding her to him.

She had no clue how they had ended up cuddled together like they currently were, she remembered falling asleep facing away from him, while he'd been laying on his back. This was definitely an interesting development, but she knew that she had to act quickly and move before he woke up and things got awkward as hell.

"Donna, I'm sorry!"

Eric's apology ruined her plans, he'd yelled at Donna and someone had stormed right passed them, startling Hyde awake before she had the chance to roll away. His eyes sprung open, pouring into her own and they both froze.

"Morning," Jackie mumbled a second later. She was trying to play it cool but she could feel her face flushing red from embarrassment.

Hyde furrowed his brow, looking back at her with a confused expression. He moved his arm back from around her waist. "Morning," his voice was quiet but rough. "Uh, can I have my arm back?" He added, referencing the arm that remained trapped underneath her head.

Jackie shot up quickly. "Oh my God, you're so embarrassing," she whispered quietly to herself as Hyde sat up beside her.

"What?" He asked, and she turned to him, he was shaking the pins and needles out of the arm that she'd been using as a pillow for who knows how long.

"Nothing," she squeaked and not wanting to embarrass herself any further, hopped out of the sleeping bag and stood up.

Steven was opening and closing his fist, trying to get feeling back into the arm/hand that was probably completely numb because of her. "Sorry, for you know-" he began as he stood up after her.

She brushed him off quickly. "It's cool" and she wasn't lying, there were worse things to wake up to then a rugged (sexy) bad-boy spooning you. Namely, Michael Kelso's boner pressing into your leg, which could have been her reality if Steven hadn't agreed to share his sleeping bag with her.

Hyde just shrugged back at her, before running a hand down his face. "Have you seen my shades?" He asked, looking on the ground around them. Apparently, he couldn't even last 5 minutes in broad daylight without them.

She spotted them hanging out from under their shared pillow and bent to pick them up.

"Here," she handed them to him and watched as he slipped them over his eyes.

It was in that moment when Donna came strolling over to them. "Look who's finally awake," she flashed a knowing smile at the two.

"Guess we slept in, huh?" Hyde responded before raising his arms up in a stretching manner, his top lifted and Jackie was treated to a quick glimpse of his toned stomach and the small patch of hair that trailed low below his waistband. Her breath caught in her throat and she quickly looked away.

"You two just looked so comfortable, I didn't want to wake you up," Donna smirked and flashed them a look that let them know she had seen them cuddled up together.

Jackie felt herself blush again, but noticed Steven didn't seem phased at all- although his shades really helped in concealing his emotions, no wonder he wore them constantly.

"Don't worry, I don't think anyone else saw. Kelso and Fez have been gone all morning and Eric's currently laying, hung-over in the van… Oh and he's wearing one of your dresses, Jackie."

"What?"

Hyde began to laugh from beside her and she turned to shoot daggers at him. "Steven. Why is Eric wearing my dress?" She questioned him, placing her hands on her hips. She just knew he had to of had something to do with it. Eric hadn't been wearing her dress when they got to camp last night, he must have put him in the outfit while Jackie was looking for her sleeping bag.

Hyde grinned. "Cause it's a great burn, man."

Kelso and Fez came walking over to the two, interrupting Steven and successfully getting him off the hook. For now, at least.

"Hey Jackie," Kelso began. "How did you sleep? Bet it was pretty cold out here without me."

She rolled her eyes but refused to look at the boy, still pissed at him from the night before. "Michael, what did I tell you last night?" She questioned in a stern tone.

"Uh, that I'm on a time out and can't come near you for 24 hours."

"So why are you talking to me?"

"Damn Jackie, fine!" He groaned but instead of walking away like she had hoped he would, he just turned to face Hyde and Fez. "What's her problem?" She heard him whisper to one of the others.

Steven's voice answered. "You hid her sleeping bag, man."

"So? I was gonna give it back… I mean, after I found the person who stole it and kicked their ass…"

"You're gonna kick your own ass?" Hyde questioned.

"No-"

Jackie didn't think she could take anymore of Kelso's crap, but Fez snapped first surprising her as well as the rest of the gang.

"Who cares?!" He cried, and everyone looked at him with shocked expressions. "Oh, I am sorry but Fez is not having a good time at Vanstock this year… I just want to go home," he expressed sadly, and Jackie felt for him. She wasn't sure what had gone down yesterday when he had went looking for Laurie, but judging by his mood, whatever happened hadn't been good.

Jackie was just happy he had brought up leaving early. She was done with Vanstock and just wanted to go back to the Forman's house, to her lovely room with her comfortable bed where Mrs. Forman was waiting to bake her cookies and do her hair (well she hoped so, at least).

"I'm fine leaving early. And Eric's going to spend the next 8 hours passed out in a frilly dress anyway so I'm going to say he's fine with leaving early too," Donna responded bitterly, clearly still not happy with her fiancé's recent behavior.

"Well I didn't get laid or hook up with Jackie like I'd planned… But I got that hot girl Brooke's number so at least this trip wasn't a total waste," Kelso added with a big grin. She wasn't happy with the part about herself, but at least he'd voted for going home early as well.

Everyone turned to face Jackie and she raised her hand in the air. "I didn't even want to come. I'm only here because I didn't want to spend the weekend alone like a loser," she pointed out, making it clear what side she was on.

The group all turned to Steven, Jackie knew he probably wanted to stay and watch some of the bands he liked perform but he was outnumbered so anything he said was a moot point anyway.

"Fine... at least we won't get stuck in traffic on the way out, but Fez is riding back with Kelso. He sang David Bowie all the way up here, and if I gotta listen to another 2 hours of _'Be My Wife'_ I can't be held responsible for what I'll do."

"Awesome, Fez you will ride with us in the van and everyone gets what they want! Now, let's blow this popsicle stand," Donna cheered, pumping a fist into the air. "Oh, and Hyde, you can take Eric. If _I _have to spend 2 hours staring at his annoying, trip ruining face. I can't be held responsible for what _I'll_ do."

"Sounds like a good trade to me," Hyde agreed, and Jackie tried not to let it show on her face just how annoyed she was that it wouldn't be just her alone with him for the 2-hour car trip. She also didn't want to have to deal with a hungover Eric, especially not one that was still currently stretching out her favorite dress.

"Let's pack everything up so we can get out of here," Donna suggested to the group and the boys nodded, breaking off into different areas of their campsite to clear everything up.

10 minutes later, Jackie had given up on pretending to help pack and was finishing freshening up in one of the bathroom cubicles. It was a dingy little portable bathroom, but it included two sinks and a medium sized mirror, which was all she could ask for from a place like this.

She was spraying her hair with dry shampoo as a blonde girl in a skimpy tank top and short shorts combo came through the door and took up space at the sink next to her. Jackie couldn't quite place it, but she knew she had met the girl before, or at least seen her somewhere previously.

She was trying to figure out how she knew her, when the blonde girl met her eyes through the dirty mirror. "Can I help you?" She questioned with a snooty expression.

Back in New-York, Jackie would have met her back with the same hostility, but since her life had taken a turn for the worse and she'd lost everything she had, she'd been trying to be a nicer person. So, she sucked in her pride and smiled back at the blonde.

"Sorry, I just…" She searched for anything to compliment the girl about. Definitely not her outfit, Jackie would never wear something so skimpy and definitely not her makeup, it was applied way too heavily.

"Really like your hair," she settled on. The familiar blonde had perfect Farrah Fawcett styled curls and, in this place, without a shower or hair dryer in sight, that was definitely something to be proud of.

"Oh. Thanks," the girl responded, looking a little taken back by Jackie's compliment. "You know. You look familiar. What's your name?"

"I'm Jackie Burkhart."

She watched as the blonde's face fell, turning from a relaxed look to an angry one. "Wait a minute. Jackie Burkhart? As in the orphan who's currently living in my bedroom, Jackie Burkhart?"

It took Jackie a moment before she caught on, when she realized the girl standing in front of her had to be non-other than Laurie Forman, she gasped. "Oh my God. _You're_ Laurie Forman!"

"Duh," she flipped her hair and Jackie frowned. So, this was the girl who had put her friend Fez through so much.

"You know. You could be nicer to Fez. He is your husband," Jackie started, she realized their unique situation had zero to do with her, but she just couldn't help herself. She had always been the type of girl who stood up for her friends, even though historically none of her friends had ever returned the favor.

Laurie scoffed, turning her attention back to herself in the mirror. "I am nice to him, I did him a favor when I married him. Without me, that little weirdo would be back on whatever island he came from, using a stick to dig ants out of the ground like a monkey."

Jackie could virtually hear Kelso shouting the word 'Burn!' in her head. But she had more loyalty than that.

"You at least owe him an explanation for why you ran away... Not to mention your parents."

Laurie turned on her. "Do not start with me. You aren't their daughter, I am and what I choose to tell and not tell my parents has nothing to do with you," she poked her finger into Jackie's chest hard, causing her to take a step backwards.

She had to fight the urge to push her back. Jackie had been raised to behave like a lady and ladies didn't fight skanks in public bathrooms, no matter how much she wanted to punch Laurie in her dump face.

"You know, your brother told me you were a bitch, but he also thinks I'm the devil so I didn't believe him… Until now," Jackie responded coldly, she wasn't going to fight her but that didn't mean she was just going to back down. "No wonder your parents don't seem to care that you've left."

Laurie laughed back, infuriating Jackie further. "Nice try little girl… I wouldn't be getting too comfortable in my old room if I were you. Cause you better believe I'll be taking it back when I come home. I hope you'll be comfortable on the couch in the basement, that's where we keep all the strays."

Jackie huffed, she hated that word, she hated that she'd also brought Steven into their fight and she hated her. She was sure Laurie was bluffing, but the thought of her returning to Point Place and having to live under the same roof as her, was almost too much to bare.

"See you around, loser," the blonde smiled and walked out before Jackie had a chance to retaliate.

Oh, she was so ready to get the hell out of here.

* * *

Eric's 18th birthday.  
The Forman's living room.

Eric's 18th birthday hadn't been going well, Donna and himself hadn't made up since their fight at Vanstock the day before and so he had spent most of his birthday trying to fix things. But of course, he had only managed to make things worse.

He couldn't help himself, she was leaving for college tonight and like Kelso, Hyde and Fez had pointed out the night before, she was probably going to find someone much better and forget all about him. So, naturally he'd ruined everything, he hadn't meant to but somehow, he'd thrown a toaster and pissed her off in the process.

Which was what had led him to the position he was currently in. As he entered into his living room to find his friends and his fiancée hanging out together, he was prepared to grovel for her forgiveness if necessary.

Donna was sandwiched between Fez and Kelso on the couch, Hyde was seated in Red's green arm-chair and Jackie was across the other end of the room on the piano bench. He didn't care that they were all there, he was big enough to admit to his mistakes in front of them. Even if Jackie would probably use his vulnerability to burn him later on.

"Donna. I'm so sorry I was such a jerk earlier. It's your last day, it's my birthday. And I just want to spend it together," he apologized as Donna got up from the couch to stand in front of him.

"Eric it's okay, I know you're just worried about us being apart from each other. You're sad I'm leaving and I'm sad too," Donna accepted his apology and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

Eric felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders, glad that he could spend what was left of his birthday and her last day, together without fighting.

"Hey, don't take him back. He threw a toaster!" Fez cried out, breaking up the moment between Eric and Donna.

Eric ignored his foreign friend and wrapped an arm around Donna's waist. "I'm just glad we made up before the party," he pointed out with a smile. It would have been a little hard to celebrate his birthday knowing how mad Donna was at him.

His friends groaned loudly back at him.

"Man, we keep telling you there is no party. It's like you're deaf," Hyde told Eric in a frustrated tone.

"Okay this is getting old," Eric muttered, turning to face Hyde. "Am I getting a surprise party or not?"

They had been telling him all day there was no party, but Eric was convinced they were just trying to throw him off. His mom always threw him a surprise party for his birthday, why would this year be any different?

"No!" Donna, Jackie, Hyde, Kelso and Fez all yelled at once.

"Are you stupid?" Jackie added quickly after and Eric turned to glare at her from across the room.

And to make things even worse, Kelso stood up and turned to face him. "Eric, there is no party!" He yelled as he made movements with his hands as if using sign language to communicate with him.

Eric wasn't sure whether the sign language was real, but knowing Kelso, he had a pretty good idea.

"This blow's!" Eric stated as Kelso took his seat back down on the couch. "It's my 18th birthday. Mom didn't even make me my special birthday breakfast this morning and now you're telling me that there's no party?"

"Forman. What's your problem man?" Hyde spoke up, getting Eric's attention. "We got you a present."

Eric nodded, they had surprised him with a case of beer the night before but after getting black out drunk at Vanstock, he hadn't felt like drinking any more. "Yeah, which you guys drank last night," he reminded them.

"We all went to Vanstock for you," Fez pointed out.

"Right, like I can remember anything from Vanstock," Eric responded, he'd gotten so drunk that all he could remember were blurs of Donna yelling at him and then vomit… So much vomit.

"Well, who's fault is that?" Jackie said, never missing an opportunity to bug him.

"Eric, we still have like 5 hours left of your birthday. We can go celebrate it together… Alone, In my room… If you know what I mean," Donna pulled his attention back to her and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively with a smile.

"That means they're gonna do it," Kelso stated the obvious with a chuckle, effectively ruining the moment for Eric.

A second later, his parents made their appearance and came walking down the stairs hand-in-hand. It was the first time he'd seen them in a few hours and he wondered what the hell the two had been up to for so long. His mom hadn't even made dinner that night, she'd gotten home from work and disappeared straight away, forcing Eric, Hyde and Jackie to come up with their own dinner plans.

It was a lucky thing Hyde knew how to cook. Eric could reheat a damn good eggo, but other than that he was utterly useless in the kitchen, and turns out, the same went for Jackie.

"Oh Jackie, honey," Kitty began as she reached the bottom of the stairs, fussing over the tiny brunette. "Are you all ready for your first day at school tomorrow?" She wondered, turning all of her attention to the little devil by the piano.

"I think so Mrs. Forman. I just need to choose one of the three outfits that I've picked out. It's so hard, I like them all. It's just really important that I choose the right one. I mean, everyone knows that kids instantly judge you based off what you're wearing."

Jackie rambled on, her shallow side more evident than ever as she went on about her outfit. Eric knew she didn't have to worry, she'd fall in with the popular crowd just like she wanted but he wasn't going to tell her that.

Besides, today was his birthday and his parents should be focusing on him not her.

"Do you have money for lunch?" Kitty questioned.

"Uh hello?!" Eric snapped and walked over to his parents. "Who cares about her first day of school. It's my birthday and there's no party!" He waved his arms around the living room, as if to prove his point. "How can there be no party mom? What's more important than your sons 18th freaking birthday?"

He watched as his parents blinked back at him, one with a guilty expression on her face, the other with a look of annoyance.

"Honey-"

"Oh, for God sakes Kitty."

"Come on mom, I want to know," Eric demanded, and a silence filled the room as his friends watched the scene play out in front of them.

"Okay fine," Kitty paused, looking from Red to her son. "For the first time since his heart-attack, your father and I were making love."

All of the teenagers in the room gasped and looked away, Eric felt his stomach turn at the thought of his parents getting it on. He quickly turned and walked back into his fiancée's embrace.

He shouldn't have asked, oh God why did he ask?

This was almost as bad as that time he had walked in on them doing it a few years ago. And he was still getting over that.

"Sexy," Fez's voice rang through the living room and Eric looked at him with a grossed-out expression.

"Okay. I'm going to bed," Jackie jumped up from the piano bench and practically bolted up the stairs.

"Eric let's go too," Donna pulled at his hand, trying to get him to leave the living room.

He didn't need to be told twice. Even Hyde and Kelso were standing up to leave the room.

"Well look at that Kitty. Now we know how to get rid of them," Red pointed out with amusement just as Eric left with Donna.

He wasn't sure he'd be able to get this disturbing new information out of his head for a while, but some alone time with Donna might help to take his mind off it.

* * *

Later that night.  
The Forman's basement.

Hyde was returning home after a long night. Eric's birthday had officially ended hours ago but the celebration of Donna's decision to stay in Point Place had continued on into the early hours and it was past 3 in the morning when he entered through the external stairwell into the basement.

What he hadn't expected to find was the basement TV on, with a sleeping Jackie cuddled up on the couch in plaid pajama pants and what looked like his black crew neck sweater. He had no idea why she was sleeping down here but she sure looked cute in his baggy clothes, no makeup on and hair up in a messy ponytail.

He'd been trying to keep his distance since Vanstock, waking up with her in his arms like that had stirred up a strange feeling inside of him that he wasn't ready to face, yet. But he couldn't lie, it had felt nice being so close to her, her small frame had fit perfectly against his as if they were made for each-other.

But those kinds of thoughts had no business inside Hyde's head and only managed to freak him out further. So, his plan had been to stay away from Jackie until they subsided. Staying away was hard to do when the person you were trying to avoid was sleeping on your couch in your favorite sweater.

And wasn't it her first day of school tomorrow?

If he let her stay here, Red or Mrs. Forman were bound to notice in the morning when she came to breakfast from the basement instead of the upstairs floor. That would only lead to questions that he definitely didn't want to answer.

He needed to wake her up.

Hyde walked over to her and bent down in front of her, Jackie looked so peaceful when she was sleeping, it was a shame he had to wake her. He reached a hand out to her shoulder, shaking her lightly until her eyes opened.

"Hey."

Jackie smiled tiredly at him before slowly sitting up. "Hey," she repeated, taking a moment to look around the dark room that was lit only by the TV which remained on in the background. "What time is it?"

Hyde looked down at his watch. "Just after 3… What are you doing down here?" He asked, watching as she crossed her legs underneath her. He moved so that he was sitting next to her on the couch.

"I couldn't sleep, I came down here to hang out, but no one was around… So, I thought I'd wait till you got back, and I guess I must have fallen asleep," Jackie explained.

She'd been waiting for him while he'd been getting Fez drunk and hanging out at bus stops. If he knew she were waiting here for him, he probably would have thrown the whole 'staying away' from her plan out the window and returned home much earlier.

But he'd never wanted to ditch his friends to hang out with any other chick before. What was so different about her?

The explanation she'd given had answered most of his questions about her late-night appearance, except one and he eyed his sweater on her body, wondering how it ended up there and if it would smell like her shampoo once she took it off.

Jackie must have noticed, because she started fiddling with the sleeves. "Oh… It was cold down here, and this was sitting on the couch. I didn't think you'd mind. Sorry," she mumbled, as if embarrassed under his gaze.

He wondered why she seemed to get so nervous around him, when he had seen how confident she could be around others. Yet when they were alone together he would regularly catch her blushing or biting her lip.

Was she feeling whatever it was he was feeling? Could this chick actually be into a burnout like him?

"It's fine," Hyde assured her.

It shouldn't have been, he never let anyone else wear his clothes before, that was something a boyfriend would do, and he wasn't her boyfriend. But, he also wasn't going to let her freeze and plus… She looked pretty fuckin' hot in it, made him think about how good she'd look in one of his Zeppelin shirts.

"Oh, cool." Jackie moved closer to him on the couch and warning bells were ringing in his head.

He'd told himself he was going to stay away and there was a reason for that. Being around her was bad for his health, it turned him into someone like Forman, all mushy and soft. And that was dangerous for more reason's then just the destruction of his reputation.

"So, where were you all night?" Her quiet voice reached through his thoughts and pulled him back to reality. She looked nervous again, probably thought he had been out all night with some other chick. Truth was, he hadn't been interested in other girls for a while now.

Even when he was getting ready to sleep with Chrissy, he hadn't really cared whether it happened or not and he'd been thinking about her anyway. When she showed up out of nowhere and interrupted his impending hook up, he hadn't cared at all. In fact, he'd actually been glad to see her.

"With the guys," he told her, scratching at his beard. They were making direct eye contact, he'd taken off his shades when he was driving home from the bus stop and had forgotten to put them back on. He felt exposed, vulnerable, under her intense gaze and wished he hadn't left them back in the Camino.

Jackie bobbed her head up and down, he wasn't sure if she was buying what he was selling but she didn't question him any further. A strand of hair had fallen out from her pony tail and was dangling down her face, he had to stop himself from reaching out and tucking it behind her ear, just another Forman-y act he needed to suppress and kill.

"Right," she wet her lips with her tongue, his eyes zero in on her mouth and his dick throbbed in response.

_No, no, no. _

"Jackie," he swallowed hard, trying to stop his throat from drying up.

"Steven," she answered in what he thought was probably the sexiest way someone had ever said his name. She moved even closer to him. He watched as her hand reached out, landing high on his thigh and his pants grew tighter.

_Think about baseball._ _Baseball and… Bob Pinciotti._

She was looking at him like he'd seen Mrs. Forman look at Red, or Donna look at Forman and he panicked. Because this couldn't happen, she couldn't like him, and he definitely couldn't like someone like her. She was a cheerleader, and although he'd spent a lot of time inside cheerleaders before, that was different. They had just wanted to slum it with him.

Girls like her never thought of him as a viable option for anything beyond sex and there was a reason for that.

It would just end badly. Very badly.

Plus, she was a virgin and if they slept together, she'd regret giving it up to someone like him.

And they'd still have to live in the same house after he fucked it up.

She was closing her eyes and leaning towards him, her face inches away from his. His gaze lingered on her lips, she was puckering them in anticipation and he was beyond tempted to just throw caution to the wind. But no matter how badly he wanted to kiss her and wrap his arms around her, he knew he had to shut this down.

This couldn't happen. He wouldn't let this happen.

Hyde stood up from the couch quickly, forcing her hand to drop from his thigh. He turned so that he could readjust his pants to hide his hard-on from her.

"Don't you have school tomorrow, man?" He questioned as he turned back to face her.

She was looking up at him with a confused expression, he thought she probably wasn't used to being rejected and it made sense… Why would she? She was freaking gorgeous. Only someone as dumb as him would turn her down.

And fuck was he dumb because he was pretty sure he could have her. Kiss her, right there. Maybe even go further than that.

But this was about more then attraction, giving into his urges and allowing himself to touch her, kiss her, like he wanted to would just fuck everything up.

Soon she'd see he wasn't worth her time. He just needed to stick to his plan and keep his distance for a while.

"Yeah… I do," Jackie nodded, standing up from the couch herself. "I should go to bed…" he watched as she tugged his sweatshirt up and over her head, giving him a glimpse of her flat stomach as her tank top shifted up. He averted his eyes but the memory was already imprinted in his mind.

"Here," she threw the sweatshirt at him and he caught it.

She was clearly pissed at him, but he was doing her a favor. She might not see that now, but soon she would.

"Night," he muttered as she stormed out of the room, up the interior stairs and out of the basement without another word.

"Great." Now she was mad at him, his sweatshirt smelled like her shampoo (freaking coconuts man) and his dick was still hard.

He threw the sweatshirt into the washing machine and headed to bed. Tomorrow he had to put his plan in motion, but tonight he'd fall asleep thinking of her.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**

**Next weeks chapter explores how Hyde's 'avoid Jackie' plan works out for him (*Spoiler alert* not well), as well as Jackie's first day at Point Place high school and the first ever hub scene in this fic! **

**Don't forget to click the fav/follow button below and leave a review, I absolutely love reading all your thoughts and favorite moments.**


	10. Matters of the Heart

Chapter 10.

Monday, August 28th.  
4:00pm.  
The Formans.

Jackie's first day at Point Place High hadn't gone exactly to plan. She'd started off on a good note, worn what she had thought was the cutest outfit she owned (the pleated skirt with the blue button up sweater and her favorite heels) and made friends with a few of the girls who claimed to be on the cheerleading team.

It wasn't until lunch time when things started going south. She'd met the head cheerleader; Julie, who made it pretty clear from the start that she was threatened by Jackie's presence at the school. After some heated words in the cafeteria, where Jackie was promptly kicked off the cheer-squad's table, it was obvious Julie was going to be her main concern when it came to claiming the spot of most popular girl.

But if Julie thought some passive aggressive comments were going to keep Jackie from auditioning for the cheerleading squad in a few days' time, then she was crazy.

The school day ended quickly, and Jackie had only managed to procure 3 allies. 2 were on the cheer-squad, a girl named Trish (cute but needed to do something with her hair and makeup) and another named Heather (totally hot, but possibly a major skank based off some comments she'd made about certain boys from the football team).

The last ally was definitely her favorite, although he wouldn't help much in way of her overthrowing Julie's title as most popular. Troye was on the football team, he was tall with bleached blonde hair and incredibly handsome.

The two had met after Julie had exiled Jackie from the cheerleaders table. He'd offered her a spot at his table and the two got to talking about all the things she loved. Turns out they had the same taste in fashion and music and also shared a common interest for Donny Osmond and Grease.

He was popular and the girls at school loved him, on the surface he seemed like the typical all-American boy but Jackie could sense there was something under the surface, something he was hiding from the world. Still, she could see the two of them becoming friends quickly and if it weren't for him, she would have written today off as a huge failure.

She was returning from school later then intended, having to walk all the way home with her heavy book bag was a slower process then she'd anticipated. When she pushed the sliding door open and stepped into the Forman's kitchen, she spotted Donna Pinciotti at the opposite end of the room.

"Donna," Jackie stormed over to the red head and grabbed hold of her wrist, dragging her towards the kitchen table. "I'm so glad you're here."

She'd found out Donna had chosen to stay in Point Place, early this morning at breakfast and was beyond happy with the news. After everything that had happened at school, not to mention the weird moment between Steven and herself last night, she needed a girl who she trusted, to vent to.

"Uh hey Jackie, what's up?" Donna asked as Jackie pushed her into a chair and sat down across from her.

"Donna I've been thinking, now that you're staying in Point Place, you and I should be best-friends," Jackie got to the point quickly, eyeing the kitchen suspiciously. She knew Eric and Steven were currently at work, and that Mrs. Forman would be at the hospital for at least another hour, but Mr. Forman was home and could walk in at any moment and she didn't need him hearing about all of her troubles.

Not that he would care enough to listen anyway.

"Uh… Sure, whatever Jackie," She shrugged and looked on with an amused expression.

Donna probably thought Jackie was kidding, but she'd never joke about such important things. She needed a best friend and out of all the candidates she'd met since moving back to Point Place, the red headed giant lumberjack from next door was her preferred choice.

Call it personal growth, if you will.

"Okay, great. Now as my best-friend, you are required to ask me how my first day of school went."

"Okay… Hey Jackie, how was your first day at school?" She played along.

"Horrible!" Jackie cried, throwing her head down onto the kitchen table to add dramatic effect.

Donna shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

Jackie lifted her head slightly to stare at the red head. "Oh, you'd be surprised. I barely made any friends and the cheer-leading captain basically declared war against me."

"Really? What did she say?"

"It wasn't what she said Donna, but how she said it! Popular girls don't fight like normal people, we use passive aggressive comments and dig at people's self-esteem until they are so insecure they develop an eating disorder and get shipped off to rehab or something."

"Jackie, that's terrible!"

"Oh, I know. And that's what this bitch is trying to do to me! But I just got here, I have nowhere else to go and I've got nothing left to lose… Julie is going to wish she didn't mess with me. I'm going to make that cheer-leading squad and I'm going to befriend all of her friends, they're totally going to like me better then her and before you know it I'll be the captain and she'll be begging _me_ to be friends with_ her._" Jackie took a deep breath in, sucking the much-needed air back into her lungs.

"Wow," Donna blinked over at her in shock. "Or – And just hear me out here… You could make friends with a different, less popular crowd. And avoid all the drama, all together?"

Jackie scoffed. "Donna please. I'm Jackie Burkhart, I can't hang out with unpopular people."

"You hang out with me and the guys? We weren't exactly popular in high school. Well Kelso was, but just cause all the popular girls thought he was pretty… Oh and Hyde too, for the same reasons I guess. But they mostly pretended he didn't exist in public, then would try hook up with him outside of school."

Jackie bit her lip at the mention of Steven's name. The more time she'd spent with him, the more attracted to him she found herself being.

Last night had been totally embarrassing, she thought he was into her as well and had actually believed for a moment that he was going to kiss her, but instead he'd jumped away from her and acted like she had the plague or something.

This morning he hadn't said a word to her, they'd sat across from each other at breakfast and he'd spent the whole meal ignoring her presence.

Obviously, she had read the signals wrong and he wasn't interested in her. Maybe she just wasn't his type? He probably went for more of the rebellious 'rock-and-roll' kind of girls.

"So, uh- Steven was with a lot of girls in high school?"

"I guess so," Donna shrugged.

"Like… What type of girls?"

"I don't know. The usual, bad girl types… Actually, there were a couple cheerleaders, couple of the rich girls too… He says they just wanted to slum it with him. Nothing that lasted longer than a week anyway."

So he had dated girls like her before! Which meant she wasn't _not_ his type, he just didn't like her personally. And that was so much worse.

"Oh… That's cool," Jackie nodded, looking down at the table. She shouldn't care whether he liked her or not, he was a dirty, poor hippie and she didn't need him… Except she wanted him.

Man, did she want him.

Being so close to him the night before, she'd felt a vibe or at least she thought she had. And in the moment, she'd never wanted to kiss someone as badly as she had wanted to kiss him. It just sucked knowing now that she couldn't have him.

She wasn't exactly used to not getting the things that she wanted. An unpleasant trait from her upbringing that made no sense now that she was poor and on her own.

"Why are you asking?" Donna wondered. "Did something happen between you two? I mean, we never really talked about the two of you spooning at Vanstock."

Jackie groaned. "No, nothing's happened. And nothing happened at Vanstock, Steven was just being nice and let me share his sleeping-bag with him because dumb Michael hid mine. I don't know how we ended up like we did, but there was like zero room in that sleeping-bag, so I guess it didn't mean anything."

"You guess?"

"Well I thought it might of, but after the highly embarrassing events of last night. I'm now 100% sure that it didn't."

Donna gasped with a smile on her face. "Jackie, what happened last night?" She asked, reaching out to lightly slap Jackie over her arm.

Jackie groaned again, embarrassed. "We were in the basement together, I thought there was- something, between us. Nothing was really said, but there was a vibe. Like a romantic vibe, you know?"

Donna nodded.

"I leaned in and he jumped away from me quicker then you could say '_rejected'_."

"Okay… Getting past the totally weird and unnatural concept that is you and Hyde," Donna scrunched up her nose as if the thought of her and Steven hooking up was icky, but Jackie thought her, and Eric's relationship was a lot grosser. "I can't believe he would have rejected you like that… I mean, some would say that you're good looking."

"Uh Donna, I'm flattered but I'm not into girls."

"Ha-ha," Donna glared over at her and Jackie laughed back. "Maybe you just misunderstood the situation."

Jackie rolled her eyes; how could she misunderstand him literally jumping off the couch and moving to the other end of the room to get away from her? She thought his rejection was pretty crystal clear.

"Trust me, he couldn't have gotten away from me quicker. And this morning was so awkward at breakfast, he didn't even look at me. Things were already weird after Vanstock and now I've gone and made them worse."

"Look, Hyde's a guy. And in my experience, guys are pretty dumb. They also have like the shortest attention spans ever, he'll forget about it and you guys will go back to normal in a few days."

Jackie perked up. "You think?" She'd love for them to go back to normal! Just because he didn't want her the way that she wanted him, didn't mean they couldn't be friends.

"Yeah, I do Jackie."

Jackie squealed and wrapped her arms around Donna, pulling her into a hug. "Oh, I'm so glad you're staying! I don't know what I'd do here without you, lumberjack."

Donna rolled her eyes as the two pulled away. "Gee thanks, midget… I'm actually really happy with my decision to stay. I know community college won't be the experience that UW would have been, but Eric is worth it, you know?"

Jackie scrunched up her nose. "No, I don't know. In fact, I don't know what you see in that loser. You know he quotes Star-Wars in his sleep, I can hear him from across the hall! And you want to marry _that_."

Donna smiled. "Yeah, I really do."

Even though Donna and Eric's relationship utterly grossed Jackie out, she thought it must be nice, having someone you loved so much that you were willing to overlook something as dorky as Star-Wars themed sleep-talking.

"You really love him."

She'd never felt that way before, all of her old boyfriends she'd gotten sick of after a few months… She thought that she could feel that way about Steven, but he was being stubborn and was seemingly unwilling to fall for her charms.

His rejection had affected more than just her pride.

"What the hell are you two doing in here?" Red Forman groaned as he walked through the living room door into the kitchen. "Don't you two have anything better to do than gas-bag in my kitchen?" He grumbled, heading towards the fridge.

"Mr. Forman, we're talking about matters of the heart," Jackie pointed out as she watched Red grab a can of beer out from the fridge. It must have been Steven's, Mrs. Forman didn't let Red have any alcohol of his own in the house anymore.

"I don't need to know that… And I don't care, just do it somewhere else."

"I thought you weren't allowed to drink beer?" Donna questioned as Red cracked the can open.

"What Kitty doesn't know, won't hurt her."

* * *

Friday, September 1st.  
4:45pm.  
The Hub.

The Hub was noisy, always was after the school day was over. Teenagers filled the small burger joint, mostly high school kids occupied each table, but Donna, Eric and Hyde had managed to secure the best spot in the house.

They were in the corner table at the back, Donna and Eric were seated in chairs across from him while Hyde had snagged the booth to himself. The sound of the Steve Miller Band's '_Jet Airliner_', pinball and overenthusiastic teens filled the small space, making it close to impossible for Hyde to hear anything Forman was saying.

He thought he heard something about their wedding and spaced out anyway. He couldn't think about his friends' wedding, couldn't focus on other people's love lives when his own was such a mess.

Plan; 'avoid Jackie to get over her', hadn't been working as well as he hoped. Avoiding Jackie had only managed to piss her off, his feelings for her (whatever they were) hadn't gone away. The most his plan had done was make her mad and him miss her.

And that was the complete opposite of what he'd been hoping for.

It had only really been a week since they properly hung out together, when she'd tried to kiss him, and he'd dodged her, promptly kicking her out of the basement. 1 week but it felt like the longest week of his life.

It was harder then he'd planned. Getting over her. She lived in the same damn house as him. Last night, he'd been heading to the upstairs bathroom to take a shower and he'd ran right into her, she was leaving the bathroom in nothing but a towel and his relaxing shower turned into an ice cold one.

Roy had given him the night off from work, he'd agreed to come to The Hub with Forman and Donna to get out of the house and away from another possible awkward encounter with Jackie. But the universe had never been kind to him and it had plans of its own.

Hyde saw her before she spotted them. She'd walked through the door in a cheer-leading uniform, she must have made the team earlier that day. The tiny brunette was joined by a group of girls, also in uniform and a few guys wearing matching varsity jackets.

But he barely noticed anyone but her. She looked fucking incredible in that uniform and he hated himself for thinking it.

"Hyde, did you just hear anything I said?" Eric complained loudly, getting Hyde's attention. His eyes darted from across the room at Jackie, to his friend in front of him.

He wasn't quick enough, both Donna and Eric picked up on what had been distracting him. "Oh, that's Jackie," Donna perked up and turned her body in the cheerleader's direction. "Jackie!" She waved a hand in the air and got the brunettes attention.

"Oh man, we can't get rid of her," Eric whined from in front of him, but Hyde wasn't listening. He was watching her as she sauntered across the room in that little skirt… She just had to join the cheer-leading squad. Was she trying to drive him insane? Cause she was doing a pretty good job at it.

"Hey there lumberjack," Jackie smiled as she approached the table, leaning down to give Donn a hug before turning to Eric and Hyde. "Losers."

"So, you got in," Donna motioned her hand over at Jackie's outfit.

Jackie smiled brightly. "Told you I would," she winked at the red head.

"That doesn't surprise me Jackie," Eric began, getting her attention. "I mean, bitches run in packs."

Jackie and Donna both moved quickly, slapping Eric over each respective shoulder. Hyde didn't blame them, he was about to reach over and do the same thing, except he would have hit him a lot harder.

"Jackie's not a bitch, Eric," Donna berated her fiancé.

Eric shrugged, bowing his head low and rubbing his shoulders, Hyde thought his pride was probably hurting a lot more then his arms were right now.

"Thank-you Donna," Jackie smiled over at her friend before moving her gaze back to Eric. Hyde noticed she'd been avoiding eye contact with him and he wondered whether it had something to do with what happened the night before.

She'd seemed embarrassed when he'd ran into her, naked except for the towel around her, but he thought he was the real victim. Now that he knew what she looked like in close to nothing, he was finding it hard to get the image out of his head. He'd been walking around with a halfy all freaking day.

"Eric, can you let your parents know that I won't be home for dinner tonight."

"Yeah, whatever," Eric shrugged, picking at the bowl of fries in front of him, not even bothering to look up at her.

"Why, where you going?"

The words left Hyde's mouth before he even realized he was saying them.

Jackie's gaze fell to him, she was looking at him as if he'd been the one to call her a bitch. "Why do you care?"

"I don't," Hyde shrugged, but thought better because he actually did care. "Mrs. Forman's gonna ask," he added quickly.

If she couldn't tell the Forman's she wasn't going to be home for dinner herself, that meant she wasn't going home to change. Which meant, wherever she was off to, she'd be going there in that tiny cheer-leading outfit.

The uniform left little to the imagination and also supplied no warmth, it might have been early September, but it got cold in Point Place during the night.

He hated to think of some football player keeping her warm.

"So, make something up," she placed her hands on her hips, the classic Jackie stance that Hyde had learnt meant she was pissed and liable to blow in any minute.

"Fine. I'll tell em' you're at a sex party having orgies with the football team."

If looks could kill, Hyde would have been six feet under by now.

"You haven't cared about me or my life all week… Why do you care so much now?"

"Yes Hyde. Why do you care so much?" Eric responded, staring Hyde down like he was insane.

He had to think quickly. "Cause', your parents told me to look after her ass and I'm not coping shit, if she gets roofied by some fucking Jock named 'Chad'," he addressed Eric, but Jackie's voice pulled his attention back to her.

"Firstly, Chad is a really nice guy and he'd never roofie me."

Hyde hadn't even known there was actually a Chad and if the situation were different he would have found that fuckin' hilarious. But Jackie was staring him down and he could feel both Forman and Donna's eyes on him as well.

He was showing his hand and it wouldn't be long before they realized how he really felt about the girl standing in front of them.

"Secondly… It's just a high school party. There's more drugs in the basement then there will be at the party, probably more beer too so you can tell _Mrs. Forman_, that I'll be fine."

She clearly wasn't buying that he was only asking for the Forman's benefit. Still, he felt better knowing where she was gonna be all night.

"Whatever," he responded.

Jackie paused, looking back over her shoulder at her friends who were all sitting at a table near the doors staring at her. Probably wondering what the hell she was doing talking to a group of burnouts like them, arguing with the towns resident bad-boy.

He watched as she looked back at him and bit down on her bottom lip. "It's an open invite. You could come, if you wanted… The party's going to be in the woods, by that big water tower."

Hyde froze. Trying to work out whether he'd just heard her right. Was she asking him to go to the party with her? Why would she still want to hang out with him after he'd been a dick to her all week?

Eric's laughter rang through the small area. "We'd rather sit and stare at the wall all night… Right, Hyde?"

Everyone turned to look at him, although Jackie's eyes had never moved from his. "Uh… Yeah, Jackie why would I want to go to some lame high school party?"

To hang out with her… And to make sure no other guy put their hands on her. The list went on, but he couldn't admit that in front of their friends.

"Whatever. I'll see you later Donna," she said goodbye to her friend before turning and leaving their table. He watched as she was welcomed back to her own table full of cheerleaders and football players.

"I gotta tinkle," Eric informed the two as he stood and left Hyde alone with Donna.

He tried to ignore the look Donna was shooting him. He knew what she'd be thinking right now. But he didn't want to hear it.

"I'll get us some more fries," he grabbed onto the empty basket of fries and went to stand, but Donna's hand came shooting forward and grabbed hold of him before he had the chance to escape.

"What was all of that about?" She kept her grasp on his forearm and nodded her head in the direction of Jackie's table. He tried to wrestle his arm free but her hold only tightened. He wasn't getting out of this easily.

"What are you talking about?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'm just going to say it because clearly, you'll never admit it." Her voice lowered, and Hyde's jaw tightened, his eyes darting from the red head in front of him to the tiny brunette across the room. If Donna was about to do what he thought she was, he didn't want Jackie to overhear anything.

"You're into Jackie," she whispered but the huge smile that spread across her face showed Hyde what her true feelings on the subject were.

He paused to think about his next move. Even if he denied his feelings for Jackie, Donna wouldn't buy it. Once she had her mind set on something there was no changing it. But if he admitted to his feelings, she'd want to talk about it and Forman was probably a minute away from coming back to the table.

If Eric found out, then their whole group would know by the end of the day. He wasn't sure if he was ready for that, in fact he knew he wasn't ready for that. Up until 5 minutes ago, he was still hoping the 'avoid Jackie' plan would work, and he'd never have to deal with these feelings again.

But that was before the tiny cheer-leading uniform. Now, all he could think about was her in that outfit, at that high school party and a hoard of football players trying to get under that little skirt.

Before he had the chance to make his decision, Donna was talking again.

"Save the excuses Hyde. I know you. You like her but you're in your head too much. You don't have to admit it to me but I'm just going to say this… She likes you too."

Hyde felt his stomach drop. He looked over at Jackie, who was currently in a conversation with some other guy, he could hear her laughter from across the room. The guy was hanging off her every word and he didn't blame him, Jackie's smile could pull anyone in.

How could someone like her, be into someone like him?

It just wasn't right.

"Just drop it Donna… It would never work."

Hyde spotted Eric walking towards their table from the bathrooms and prayed that Donna would for once listen to him. But as he approached them, she leaned closer into Hyde and whispered, "you'll never know that for sure unless you try".

"Try what?" Eric questioned as he took his seat next to Donna. Hyde watched as he wrapped an arm around the back of Donna's chair and reached across to steal some of her pop.

"Uh…"

"Roller disco… Hyde wants to try roller disco," Donna interjected, and Eric burst out laughing.

"Yeah right Donna."

Eric wasn't buying Donna's lame cover up story, but he didn't pry any further. The couple fell back into their previous conversation about their up and coming wedding while Hyde leaned back against the booth and tried not to watch Jackie from across the room.

Soon she'd be off at her party, spending her night drinking and dancing with her friends while getting hit on by a bunch of guys who were probably a lot better than him. And he just had to be okay with that, cause' she might have a crush on him now but sooner or later she'd realize girls like her didn't belong with guys like him.

He'd just have to distract himself all night from thinking about her, because the more he thought of her at that party surrounded by football players and preppy guys, the worse he felt.

* * *

10:30pm.  
That night.  
The Basement.

Hyde was coming down from a circle way too early into the night. Kelso and Fez hadn't been the distraction that he was hoping they'd be. For as long as he'd known, he'd spent his nights in this basement with the same idiot friends and that had been enough for him.

Tonight, was different.

Kelso was attempting to build a pyramid out of a deck of cards and was failing miserably, the cards had gone crashing to the ground on multiple occasions. Little did he know that Fez was the one sabotaging him, blowing air from his spot on the couch, in the direction of the others pyramid to ensure its downfall.

Normally Hyde would be helping Fez knock down the tower of cards. Or at least make a remark about how dumb Kelso was for not figuring out what was actually going on. But he was finding it hard to focus on anything.

Jackie was still out. And it was early so of course she wouldn't be back yet, but Hyde couldn't stop hoping she'd show up in the basement. He wondered what she was doing right now? Whether she was wasted or whether she was getting cold in that getup of hers, maybe someone was wrapping their jacket around her right now…

Maybe she was looking at that guy the way she looked at Hyde in the basement the other night, the thought left him feeling sick. But, maybe she was waiting around on her own, hoping that he would show up suddenly. She had invited him after all, so clearly, she had wanted him to come.

Maybe it wouldn't be the worse thing if he showed up? He could say he was just checking up on her cause Mrs. Forman had asked him too. She probably wouldn't buy it but at-least his mind would be put to ease.

If he did go, he'd have to get rid of Kelso and Fez first. The two would get suspicious if they knew Hyde's real reasons for suddenly wanting to go to a high school party and he couldn't have them asking a bunch of questions that he wasn't ready to answer.

He looked over at his friends, contemplating his next move as Kelso's tower of cards came crashing down again.

Kelso groaned loudly as he watched the deck fall to the ground around him while Fez tried to hide his laughter behind a series of fake coughs.

"That's it. This suck's, I'm done." Kelso began collecting the cards from the floor.

"Let's play Candy Land!" Fez suggested loudly, and Hyde groaned. Fez always wanted to play that dumb board game.

"I'm not playing that game again Fez. Let's just get high or something," Hyde suggested instead, he really thought another circle would be beneficial to his current mental state. Flashes of Jackie hooking up with random asshole jocks filled his mind and he needed the clarification of a drug induced haze.

Plus, if he got Kelso and Fez high enough, they might not even notice him sneaking out the basement afterwards.

"I am still loopy from the last circle," Fez informed him with a frown. There were times when Hyde enjoyed having a higher tolerance then his friends, this was not one of those times.

"I'm bored. Let's go out," Kelso stood up from the lawn chair suddenly.

Fez joined him and jumped up from the couch. "We could play pinball at The Hub?"

Kelso shook his head. "We do that all the time. I say we go to the water tower… I'm thinking that giant pot leaf is looking a little lonely up there."

Hyde sat up in his chair. Kelso's suggestion was thought-provoking. He knew the water tower was close by where Jackie was, she'd said so much when they had spoken at The Hub earlier. This could be the perfect opportunity that Hyde was looking for.

The group would get to the water tower and they'd run right into the party. He'd get to see Jackie and put his mind to ease without Kelso and Fez getting suspicious.

"Oh, yes. Let's do that." Fez agreed and the two turned to face Hyde while he thought his options over one last time.

He had wanted to use the night to distract himself from thinking about her but that hadn't been working anyway. He could stay here on his own and continue his 'avoid Jackie' plan, or he could go help his friends illegally tag government property and if that meant running into her and possibly showing his cards, then so be it.

Fuck it.

"Let's go."

* * *

**Once again thank you so much for reading and thank you to everyone who has taken their time to leave a review or fav/follow this story, your feedback really means the world to me!**

**So I've said before this story is going to be a slow burn for Jackie and Hyde (clearly I meant it but hopefully you guys are enjoying the build up) but we're almost there! The next chapter will see Hyde crashing Jackie's party and our favorite couple getting closer.**

**On that note, I'll be overseas for the next few weeks and wont be able to update until I get home, so the next chapter wont be out until towards the end of June but don't worry it is coming! I promise i'm not abandoning this story or anything. **

**I'll see you all in a few weeks! Until then, don't forget to leave a review and fav/follow this story if you haven't already. **


	11. Lame High School Parties

Chapter 11.

10:50pm.  
The Woods by the Water Tower.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone." Jackie's friend Troye whispered to her.

The party was being held in a clearing in the woods, there was a bonfire lit in the middle and cars lined the outskirts of the clearing, one had its doors open so that everyone could hear the music playing from inside. Keg's were lined up along the far-right side, 80% of the party occupants were already wasted but there was still enough beer to keep the night going 10-fold.

The clearing was full of teenagers from their high school, it looked like the whole senior and junior year were in attendance. All the girls from the cheer-leading squad had made it, yet Jackie had found herself spending most of the night with Troye.

They'd been chatting about all the kids in their year when Troye's secret had come out.

"I won't say anything. Although I do think you should just come out. Who wants to live their life with a secret as huge as this? When I lived in New-York, I had like a ton of gay friends and they were all out of the closet."

An embellishment, she had known one other gay man in her life and he was in his forties, but he was out and proud and a lot happier for it. She just wanted her friend to be happy. Secret's crushed people, she knew that first hand from her father's situation.

"Except this isn't New-York. This is Point Place, Wisconsin. If I came out, my parents would kick me out of the house and I'd lose my spot on the football team. The scholarship, my friendships… Everything would be ruined."

Jackie took a sip of beer out of the red cup in her hand, she hated the taste but there was nothing else supplied so she'd have to make due. She'd had the same drink for an hour now, choosing to take her time instead of downing every cup in 5 seconds flat like half of the other girls at the party.

Plus, her and Troye's conversation had taken up a lot of time and so it should. When she'd made an offhanded comment about Justin Roberts good looks, she never expected Troye to agree and then continue to spill his life story to her.

But she was glad he did, and she felt a lot closer to him now. She just wished people weren't so close minded.

"I think that is so wrong in so many ways. But I get it and don't worry I'll keep my mouth shut," she promised to him and Troye sighed in relief.

She was surprised he'd even doubt her for a second, like she would spread a rumor that life damaging… Well maybe last year she could have, but not this year, not after everything she'd been through.

"Thanks Jackie… I actually feel a lot better being able to talk about this with someone now. No-One else at school knows." His voice was low as he ran a hand through his blonde hair.

When she'd met him earlier in the week, she had thought how the old Jackie would have probably found him incredibly attractive. With his blonde hair, bright blue eyes and modelesque stature, but her tastes had recently changed thanks to a certain boy who slept two floors below her on an army cot.

Even though that boy was currently doing everything in his power to avoid her.

"Oh, I'd love to talk boys with you. That's like, one of my favorite subjects," she pointed out with a laugh and Troye loosened up. "It's perfect actually, because I don't think I can trust any of the girls on the cheer squad."

Troye nodded his head "I don't blame you there," he said and turned to scan the crowd around them, every-one in their vicinity looked a lot drunker then the two of them currently were and there was a group of girls to their left who were currently scream singing the lyrics to 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?' by Rod Stewart.

"This party is getting out of control… Everyone's hammered!" He exclaimed as he waved a hand over at the group of girls, none noticed but one girl turned away abruptly to vomit up her dinner onto the grass.

"Wow… Okay, we're way too sober for this," Troye turned back to Jackie.

She cringed and moved a couple steps away from the group, taking Troye with her. "I know, but I just don't really feel like drinking tonight. It's kind of hard to relax and have a good time with Julie constantly sending me bad looks from across the party."

She nodded her head in the direction she'd last seen the cheer-leading captain and they spotted her instantly. Julie was currently talking with one of the guys on the football team, directly across from them. The conversation must not have been that interesting, because a moment later she turned to glare at Jackie, proving her point to Troye. That, or the girl had eyes in the back of her head, which wouldn't surprise Jackie either.

"She really hates you," Troy stated the obvious before gasping suddenly and grabbing hold of Jackie's wrist. "There's Justin Roberts, God he's gorgeous," he pointed out the quarter back, who was by the Kegs getting himself another drink.

Justin Roberts was your typical good-looking jock. Not quite 6 feet but broad as hell with the arms of a line-backer, dark brown hair, hazel eyes and a perfect smile.

Jackie tilted her head to get a better look. "Yeah I mean, he's-"

Troye's gasp cut her off. "Oh no, he saw us looking!" He turned in the opposite direction as if that would cover up the fact that they'd been caught staring blankly over at him.

Jackie kept looking, Justin had not only seen them staring at him, but he was coming over towards them as well. "Don't look now, but he's coming over," she whispered, with an amused smile on her face.

Troye straightened up and turned back around right as Justin approached them.

"Hey, Troye man!" Clearly, Justin was wasted. He clapped a strong hand over Troye's back. "Where've you been all night?" He asked, swaying as he spoke and spilling beer out of his red cup onto the ground.

Troye looked over at Jackie, "just hanging out with Jackie."

Justin chuckled and eyed the couple, as if there was something going on between the two that was much more scandalous than in reality.

"I get it man, right on!" He once again clapped his hand over Troye's back. "Hey, look man, when you're done with her… You gotta come play this game with the guys, it's called quarters, gets you totally fucked up."

Troye eyed Jackie and she nodded her head to let him know she was fine with him leaving her. "I'm down let's just go now… I'll see you later Jackie," Troy said his goodbyes and the two left a moment later.

As her only real friend at the school walked away from her, she contemplated whether of not she should just go home. She knew she didn't want to hang out with a bunch of drunk, bitchy cheerleaders and that it might be time to call it a night.

It was getting late and clearly, Steven wasn't going to show. Earlier she'd thought there was a possibility that he'd make an appearance even though he'd said he wasn't interested in high school parties, but it looked like she was wrong once again.

Now that Troye had ditched her to play drinking games with Justin Roberts, there was really no point her staying any longer. Except Heather, a girl from the cheer-leading squad, had been her ride to the party and Jackie hadn't seen her in hours. She'd have to wait until Heather showed her face again, before she could leave.

Until then, she was stuck.

10 minutes later, Jackie was standing by the kegs - refilling her drink, when she was approached by a familiar face.

"Hey there, pretty lady."

She turned around to come face to face with Casey Kelso. Whom she hadn't seen since Vanstock, where he had hit on her even though he'd been with his girlfriend at the time. It didn't surprise her to see him at a high school party, if she knew anything about Kelso's it was that they loved a party, especially one with younger women.

"My name's Jackie, actually," she pointed out, folding her arms across her chest and preparing herself for the uncomfortable conversation that was about to follow.

"Oh, I remember... How's about I get you a drink?"

She rolled her eyes and raised the cup she had just filled up. "I already have one."

"Well, guess I'll just have to get you the next one."

* * *

11:05pm.  
The Water-Tower.

Hyde, Fez and Kelso arrived at the water tower to the sounds of loud music and drunk teenagers, so naturally their plans to deface a town landmark changed quickly to crashing the high school party.

Hyde had pretended to be just as shocked as the other boys, but it was Kelso who suggested the change in plans first. With Fez eagerly agreeing, Hyde found himself being dragged towards the party, moments after arriving at the water tower.

As they walked through the woods, Hyde thought of his plan of attack. Somehow, he'd lose Kelso and Fez (which shouldn't be hard, as they normally disappeared quickly at parties) and look for Jackie.

After that… Well, winging it had always worked out for him before.

"Alright!" Kelso called out as they reached the clearing in the woods where the party was currently happening. "It's a high school party! And look, cheerleaders!" He exclaimed excitedly as he pointed at a group of uniform clad cheerleaders.

Hyde turned to look at where his friend had pointed, but Jackie wasn't among the group of girls. He looked around the party quickly, scanning the area.

"And look, they got beer!" He grinned and pointed at the row of kegs that he spotted at the other side of the party.

There were so many people in such a small space, finding Jackie would be difficult. It was beginning to look like staging a casual run in might be harder then he'd initially thought, but at-least if he couldn't find her, he could score some free beer.

"Alright, lets spread out. If we aren't together, there's a better chance that you two will lay a chick. Cause let's be honest, if we stick together they're all just gonna want me." Kelso informed the group, leering at the same group of cheerleaders as he spoke.

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Whatever man," he said and watched as Kelso ran off. When he turned to look at Fez, he noticed a concerned expression on his face.

"What's up, Fez?"

"I did not think it would be a high school party…" Fez mumbled, his eyes darting around the party widely. "It is not a good idea for me to be here… The football team and I are currently in a disagreement."

Hyde frowned, what the hell could Fez and the entire football team have to disagree about?

"They think it is funny to chase me around and throw things at me… I disagree," Fez informed Hyde. "I need to stay out of their sight to save my family jewels."

He watched as Fez ran off, disappearing into the crowd and away from the group of footballers that were situated by their left side.

Well, getting rid of Kelso and Fez had been easier then he thought. But he made a mental note to look out for his little buddy. Back in high school he used to fight the footballers if he saw them picking on Fez, he'd do it again tonight too and he'd be happy about it.

But watching out for Fez was his side mission, his main mission now was to locate Jackie.

He just wanted to make sure she was alright. There were a lot of people here and most of them looked loaded. Endless possibilities of where she was or what could be happening to her, ran through his mind and none of them were good.

Once he saw that she was fine, he'd be able to relax.

And surprisingly, it didn't take long before he spotted her. He'd done half a loop of the party, elbowing his way through the crowd when he found her. She was near the edge of the clearing by the row of kegs, still dressed in her uniform, with a red cup in one hand, talking to…

Talking to Casey Kelso?

What the hell was that creep doing here?

He briefly contemplated waiting until they were done talking before he approached her, but Kelso's older brother was standing just a bit too close to Jackie and even from afar, Hyde could see the uncomfortable look on her face.

He knew Casey Kelso, and the guy was bad news.

Making up his mind, he pushed through a group of drunken girls to make his way over to them.

When he reached the two, he moved so that he was standing next to but slightly in front of Jackie, forcing a space between her and Casey.

"Steven," Jackie said, her tone full of surprise. "What are you doing here?" She questioned, and he looked over at her just in time to catch the relieved expression on her face. She was clearly happy to see him but the same couldn't be said for Casey, who was looking at him with malice.

He was sizing him up, but Hyde wasn't interested in this game. Casey would have to look somewhere else for his next victim cause' he wasn't about to let him mess with Jackie. He'd seen how this guy treated women and there was no way he was getting anywhere near her.

"Yeah, Hyde… What are you doing at a high school party?" Casey asked, his tone full of spite as he completely missed the irony in his own question.

Wasn't surprising, the guy was a Kelso after all.

"I could ask you the same thing," Hyde pointed out anyway.

"Came for the hot chicks," Casey smirked, moving his gaze back to Jackie.

Hyde's jaw twitched with annoyance, he could see Jackie was uncomfortable around this guy and wondered what else Casey had been saying to her before he'd arrived. If he had to guess based of her body language, it was nothing good.

He just needed to keep his anger under control, wouldn't fight Kelso's older brother at a high school party but he did still want to send the guy a message. Make it clear he couldn't mess with her.

"Hey, where's your girlfriend man?"

Casey turns his attention back to Hyde, a blank expression on his face. "Who?"

Hyde rolled his eyes, but Jackie spoke up first.

"I think her name was Jessica."

"Oh, her. Yeah, she's not my girlfriend," Casey laughed it off, but he was delusional if he thought Hyde was going to fall for his bullshit.

"Yeah, she is man," Hyde had spent enough time around the Kelso family to know that Casey had been dating Jessica for at-least 6 months now. The girl deserved better, but that was another conversation entirely.

"I mean, she was my girlfriend. But we broke up last month," Casey spat his sob story and sent Jackie a sad look, but Hyde knew she'd see right through him. All the shit she'd been through recently, she had to be able to pick up on bullshit like a pro by now.

"You were with her last week at Vanstock?" Jackie reminded him.

"No, I wasn't." He shook his head, unwilling to cave.

Hyde could see this going on for a while and knew he had to be straight forward if they were ever going to get rid of him.

"Casey, just get lost. She's not interested."

He stood his ground as Casey took a step closer to him, obviously pissed. But he didn't scare Hyde and if it came down to it, he knew he could take him.

"Why don't you make me?" Casey threatened as he got up in Hyde's face.

"Get out of my face, Casey," Hyde warned him.

Casey was too close now, staring down at Hyde like being a few inches taller would scare him off, but the most it was doing was pissing him off. The guy needed more than height to frightened Hyde into submission.

He told himself he wasn't going to fight the guy, but Casey looked to have different plans and he wanted to get his ass kicked, well then that was on him.

But before Casey had the chance to respond or do something he'd later regret, Jackie was stepping in-between the two of them. She pushed both of them apart and turned to face Hyde, grabbing hold of both his wrists.

"Steven, I'm thirsty," she said quickly, giving him a pointed look. He saw through her intentions and knew this was less about quenching her thirst and more about getting him away from Casey before things got ugly.

"Let's go get me a refill," she added, pleading with him with her eyes.

He wanted to ditch Casey just as badly as she did, so he didn't need to be told twice. Fighting with one of his best-friend's older brothers probably would have been a bad idea anyway, no matter how bad Hyde wanted to wipe that smug look off his stupid face.

"Yeah, alright Jackie." Hyde nodded, and Jackie pulled on his hand, leading him away from the scene.

"I'll see you round Jackie," Casey called out from behind them as they crossed the party together.

"Is that guy serious?" Hyde questioned, looking back to see Casey Kelso disappearing into the crowd. Probably off to find another underage, helpless girl he could hit on and manipulate with his genetic Kelso charms.

"Just forget about him," Jackie suggested as she led them past the row of kegs and towards a less crowded area where they could talk in private.

She stopped the two of them just outside of the clearing where the party was happening so that they were enshrouded by the cover of surrounding woods.

"Thank you for saving me from that creep but… Why are you here? You told me earlier that there was no way you'd go to a 'lame high school party'," she let go of her hold on his wrist and stood in front of him.

"Kelso and Fez wanted to hang out at the water tower, I came with… Forgot your party was happening here." He lied, winging it like her normally did.

It wasn't like he could tell her the real reason why he'd come to the party, he wasn't ready to have all his cards out on the table just yet. Needed to know how she felt first.

She didn't look like she was buying it, he forgot about her ability to see through his bullshit.

"You want to know what I think?"

"No."

She smiled and continued anyway, "I think you came here to see me."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't." He could tell she was getting ticked off, but he thought she looked cute when she was mad, so he kept it going.

"Yes, you did."

"_No, _I didn't."

"_Yes_, you did. Now shut up, you're ruining it," she huffed angrily, and Hyde grinned back at her outburst. "Anyway, I am really glad you decided to show… We can hang out and I can introduce you to all my new friends," she suggested with a big smile on her face, but Hyde couldn't think of anything worse then hanging out with a bunch of cheerleaders.

Besides, he'd hooked up with half the cheer-squad in his last year of high-school so the chances of an awkward encounter where extremely high and he didn't want Jackie finding out about his promiscuous past with her team-mates.

He'd been using those girls for sex, but then again, they'd been using him too. They had only seen him as an opportunity to slum it and possibly piss their parents off in the process. As a result, he'd behaved like a jerk and had a time limit for hook ups. Focused solely on getting himself off, then going back to pretending the girl didn't exist the week after.

It wasn't exactly a side of him he wanted Jackie knowing about.

He groaned, making his feelings clear. "Jackie, cheerleaders don't like me," he pointed out, hoping it would be enough to change her mind, but he was learning that Jackie was as stubborn as he was.

"That's not true," she shook her head and Hyde looked back at her with confusion. "I'm a cheerleader, and I like you," she lit up, looking up at him with those big eyes and that million-dollar smile he was growing so fond of.

He managed to hold back his own smile, but it was getting pretty hard to hide.

"Yeah well… You're crazy, doesn't count," he joked but Jackie didn't find it so funny.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "So, you really won't come and meet my friends?"

"Uh no. But come on… Let's just hang out alone for a while," he suggested, hoping the prospect of his company would be enough for her.

"Well okay… Let's go somewhere else though, the woods kind of creep me out," Jackie pointed out, looking around them at the thick mass of trees they were currently standing in.

Hyde had an idea of where they could go to get some privacy that would be significantly less creepy.

"Follow me."

He led her through the woods, past the water tower and to the lake where the sounds from the party were almost non-existent.

It was colder out in the open and a thick layer of fog covered the water, masking the normally picturesque view, but at-least they were out of the woods.

There was a small dock nearby that extended out into the middle of the lake. Hyde and Jackie walked to the very end and sat down on the edge, their feet dangling just above the water.

"I didn't know there was a lake here," Jackie commented in a quiet voice, the eerie silence of the still water forcing the two into a strange calmness.

"Came here skinny dipping with the gang once…" He admitted, and Jackie laughed.

"That would have been fun," she sighed, and he couldn't help but think that it would have been a lot better if she had been there with them.

"You ever done it before?" He asked, turning to look at her. She was staring out at the water and avoiding his gaze, but he didn't care. He thought that she'd never looked better then she had in that moment.

The lake supplied a clearing for the moonlight to shine through, breaking apart the fog and lighting up the area so that he could clearly see her even with his shades on. She was beautiful and way out of his league.

"No," she admitted.

Hyde smirked, spotting an opportunity. "Then I know what we're doing tonight…"

Her laughter echoed through the empty space and she turned to smack him over the arm. "Good try but there's no way. I'd probably freeze to death," if she wasn't right, he would have fought her on the subject just to rile her up more.

But it was cold out here and she looked half frozen in her current outfit. Taking off clothes wasn't an option right now.

"So if it was warmer, you'd do it?" He asked, not sure he believed it.

Jackie shrugged. "Maybe."

The thought of her taking off all her clothes and jumping into the lake in front of him was enough to make his heart pound and his dick throb. He had to focus on anything else, anything that wasn't a naked Jackie.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pre-rolled joint that he'd brought along just in-case. He felt like it was necessary in the moment.

"I'll believe that when I see it," he muttered with the joint in his mouth as he fiddled with the lighter in his hand.

Jackie laughed. "You wish," she joked but probably didn't realize that she had never been more right. "Are you going to share?" She asked a moment later after he'd gotten the joint lit and taken a puff or two for himself.

He wordlessly passed the joint to her and watched as she pressed it to her lips and inhaled like a pro. She'd come a long way since her first time in the circle, when he had worried that she was going to cough a lung up.

"Think I'm a bad influence on you," he added as she blew the smoke from her mouth and passed it back to him.

"Yeah… But I kind of like it though," she admitted with a smile and he chuckled. Damn she was fucking charming, no wonder her old man spoiled her, a weaker man wouldn't be able to resist giving her whatever she wanted.

"Your parents would have hated me."

"They_ did_ hate you… Mother used to tell me to stay away from you. She thought you had fleas."

Hyde couldn't help but laugh at Pam's prejudice, that woman really had no fucking clue but there was no point in him being mad about shit the was said years ago.

"Your mother's a lunatic," he stated simply, passing her the joint again.

"I know," she agreed quietly and the two fell into a comfortable silence as they finished their own private circle up.

As he was stubbing out what remained of the joint a few minutes later, he felt her move closer to him so that her side was now pressing into his.

"Hey, Steven?" Jackie looked up at him as she began to rub her hands up and down her bare arms. "I'm cold… Could I have your jacket?"

He looked down at his jacket, he'd left the Forman's in one of his concert tee's and thrown on a blue denim jacket on his way out. It didn't supply much heat but if he took it off, then he'd be the cold one.

"Jackie…" He started but she cut him off.

"Please?" She was pouting at him again and he felt like a sucker. That pout of hers had to have some sort of cosmic power, cause for some reason it won him over every damn time.

"Fine," he shrugged off his jacket and handed it to her. If she was going to be wearing anyone else's jacket, he was glad that it was his.

She smiled like she did when she got her way and put both arms through his jacket, pulling it up onto her body and snuggling into it. It was way too big on her, but just like when he'd caught her in the basement wearing his sweater, he thought she looked incredible in it.

"Thank you, Steven."

"Anything for you, doll."

He didn't know where the phrase came from, but he knew that he meant it.

He watched as she reached out and grabbed hold of his hand before pulling his arm up and over her shoulders. She smiled at him like she'd won some sort of prize and he decided then and there that he wasn't going to fight her anymore.

"Okay," he nodded his head and looked back out over the lake. The two sat in a blissful silence and he wasn't sure if it was the effects from the joint they'd shared or if it was just cause' he was with her, but he hadn't felt this good in a long time.

If this is what it would be like to be more then friends with her, then he was finding it hard to see a reason why he should be holding himself back any longer. Sure, there was still the possibility of royally fucking things up, but Hyde was starting to think that it might be worth the risk.

Cause' if just sitting here in silence, with his arm around her and her head resting against his shoulder felt this good. Then kissing her was bound to feel fucking incredible.

Hyde was working up the courage to make a move on Jackie when the sound of running feet against the dock echoed out through the lake and ruined the moment, breaking the two apart. They both turned around to see the culprit behind the noise.

Kelso was running towards them and Hyde had to hold in a groan, wondering why the Kelso family were so against him and Jackie getting together tonight.

"Man, I've been looking for you guys everywhere!" Kelso exclaimed, out of breath as he reached the end of the dock where Hyde and Jackie were waiting for him.

"What's going on?" Jackie questioned with a look of concern on her face. Hyde felt less concern and more annoyance by the presence of his friend.

He could guess what was wrong without even being told. Either Kelso or Fez had gotten themselves in trouble with an angry boyfriend after hitting on their girl. That's how it usually went when they were at a party together.

Hyde was always the one they came running too, then he usually had to deal with the pissed off guy which would result in a fight. Normally, he wouldn't mind beating up on someone who was coming after his friends, but Kelso had interrupted an important moment between Jackie and him, so as far as he was concerned, he could deal with whatever problem he had on his own.

"The football team chased Fez up a tree and he's stuck," Kelso informed the group and although it was a slightly different situation then Hyde had thought (albeit much funnier), it was still the same thing. Fez had gotten himself in trouble now Hyde had to bail him out.

It looked like he'd failed his side mission while pre-occupied with his main mission.

"What? Why would they do that?" Jackie gasped, she was friends with the football team, to her this revelation must have been shocking but Kelso and Hyde knew the kind of people her new friends really were.

"Cause it's funny?" Kelso guessed with a chuckle. "You guys should have seen him shoot up the tree, he's as quick as a cat… Got less funny when I realized he'd gotten stuck all the way up the top. And I can't climb that high, I'm prone to falling on my head," he explained to Jackie, nodding his head.

It was true, Hyde couldn't count all the times he'd watched Kelso fall off the water tower.

"He'll get down on his own. Let it be a lesson for the guy, if he's gonna climb up shit he's gotta learn how to climb back down." Hyde shrugged.

"Steven!" Jackie scolded him, sending daggers his way. "You have to go help him, poor Fezzy could really hurt himself if he falls."

Fezzy? Man, she really cared about that guy.

He sighed, already knowing he was fighting a losing battle. Besides, he felt kind of bad about failing the side mission, almost like it was on him that Fez had ended up stuck in a tree.

"Alright, fine. Let's go get him."

The moment had passed, and it looked like he'd be spending the rest of the night trying to get Fez out of a tree instead of how he really wanted to spend it.

But at least now, he knew what he wanted. And she was it.

* * *

**I'm back! I had such a great time while I was away but I'm so happy to be home and it feels so good to finally get this chapter out to you guys. (Hopefully it was worth the wait)**

**Next weeks chapter is a big one, and the moment you've all been waiting for! (Seriously, you won't want to miss it)**

**Thank you for your patience and for continuing to read/love this fanfic. Don't forget to fav/follow this story if you're liking it so far and review to let me know your fav parts xx**


	12. Butterflies

Chapter 12.

Sunday, September 3rd.  
7:25pm.  
The Forman's kitchen.

It was dinner time at the Formans. A time of the day that Jackie had begun to look forward to most. The Forman family, Steven and herself would all sit down (depending on who was home at the time), talk about their day and have a nice meal together.

It was a simplicity of suburban life that Jackie had been denied while growing up in New-York. Her dad had always been busy with work and chose to eat in his office when he was home, while Pam regularly went out to eat with her friends, leaving Jackie to eat alone in the kitchen with their chef Teddy.

Dinner time at the Forman's couldn't be more different, but she loved it for that very reason.

As she took her seat at the kitchen table, Kitty began serving the food.

"Hey mom," Eric, the one downside when it came to family dinners (if you asked Jackie), walked through the living room door. He was holding an envelope in one hand as he approached Kitty. "Here's my weeks wage from the Holiday Hotel, I want you and dad to have it."

Jackie watched as Kitty smiled brightly, taking the envelope from Eric's hand and wrapping her arms around him in a big hug. "Oh Eric, you are such a good boy. Thank you."

Eric looked genuinely happy as his mother released him and Jackie thought that this might have been one of his only redeeming qualities. He could be saving the money he was making at work for his and Donna's wedding or their future, but instead he chose to give it all up in order to help his parents in their time of need.

She actually respected him for it.

"That was really nice of you Eric," Jackie admitted the words before she even realized what she was saying.

Eric was pulling up the chair next to her and looking at her as if she'd spoken to him in a different language.

"Is this a trap?" He asked a second later and Jackie frowned.

"How would this be a trap? And what would I even be trapping you into?"

Eric shrugged, reaching out to the plate of fried chicken in the middle of the table and grabbing a drumstick for himself. "I don't know, but I wouldn't put anything past you."

"Eric don't be silly. Jackie was just being nice," Kitty interjected as she sat down at the table herself. "Would it kill the two of you to get along?"

Eric and Jackie took a moment to pause and look at the other.

"Yes," they both responded simultaneously before turning their attention back to the meal in front of them.

Red walked through the sliding doors a moment later. "Where's the other one?" He asked as he sat down.

"He's at work." Eric informed his father of Hyde's whereabouts.

Steven had been absent for a lot of dinners recently, working long hours at the Holiday Hotel tended to cut into their family time. He'd been working overtime all weekend and the two hadn't gotten a chance to hang out since Friday night, but at least things were better between them then they were earlier in the week. Steven was no longer avoiding her, and things were finally going back to normal for the pair.

In fact, things had been better than ever before.

Jackie could have sworn that Steven had been flirting with her at the party and if Fez hadn't gone and gotten himself stuck up in that tree (it took them over half and hour to get him down), she was pretty certain that something would have happened between them on the dock.

And the thought made her giddy with excitement.

But she'd learned from past experiences not to get her hopes up. She'd been wrong before about Hyde's feelings towards her and that had resulted in one of the most embarrassing moments of her life. Attempting to kiss him in the basement only to be rejected had left her scarred and her humiliation quota had reached its limits.

She could never really tell what Steven was thinking or feeling and for that reason, she'd leave it up to him to make the first move. Save herself the humiliation of being turned down by the same boy, twice.

"So, what are _you_ still doing here? You should working too," Red stated, staring at Eric as he began to dish himself up some potatoes. Jackie had to hide her laughter behind her glass as she took a sip of water.

"I had the day off…"

Kitty cleared her throat, getting Red's attention. "Red, your son just gave us his weeks wages to pay for this month's electrical bills. You should be thanking Eric."

"Kitty, for the past 18 years my wages have gone towards clothing, feeding and educating that boy and not once did he ever thank me. So, if Eric keeps this up, I'll be happy to thank him in 17 years, 11 months and 3 weeks' time… That is if I'm still alive by then."

"Thanks dad… That was beautiful," Eric responded sarcastically.

Red ignored him and reached for the plate of fried chicken only to have Kitty slap his hand away.

"Red, you know you can't eat fried chicken, I made that for the kids," She explained, to Red's disdain. "I've got some boiled chicken for you," she added, getting up from the table to the stove where Red's dinner was boiling in a pot.

Red looked horrified as Kitty slapped down the white, skinless and season-less chicken onto his plate.

Jackie felt bad for him, she knew Mrs. Forman was only doing this because she cared about her husband and wanted him to be healthy after his recent health scare, but would a little fried chicken really hurt?

"Gee, thanks Kitty," Red grumbled as the phone began to ring.

While Kitty was preoccupied answering the kitchen phone, Jackie grabbed hold of the drumstick on her plate.

"Mr. Forman," she whispered, getting his attention. She held the drumstick out to Mr. Forman and he quickly chomped down on the chicken, getting as much into his mouth as possible before Mrs. Forman noticed.

"Great Jackie, way to give my dad another heart-attack," Eric commented from her other side as Red finished off the remainder of the drumstick in record time.

Jackie poked her tongue out at him before placing the clean bone back onto her plate.

"Jackie, honey," Kitty spoke up from the other side of the kitchen, she had the phone in her hand and a nervous look on her face. "It's your mother, she wants to talk to you."

Jackie froze from shock. She'd been in Point Place for almost a month now and had given up from hearing from her mother, days ago. Now all of a sudden Pam was calling, wanting to talk to her?

This couldn't be good.

"Jackie, go speak to your mother," Red instructed her, a stern but concerned quality to his words. Jackie rose from the table and walked slowly towards Kitty who passed her the phone and left her by the living room door.

She pressed the phone to her ear and kept her voice quiet, "mother?".

"Oh, sweetheart it's so good to hear your voice!" Pam's bright and bubbly voice sounded through the other end of the line. The woman was acting as if things between the two were as normal as ever, like she hadn't abandoned her and then waited a month to call.

"How are you, mother?" Jackie asked, reverting back to the perfect daughter card that she had grown up playing. Even though there were a million things she wanted to say to her mother, Jackie knew better than to let Pam get to her.

Besides, she knew the Forman's were all watching her from the table and she didn't want them to pity her. She didn't need anyone's pity.

So, she took the high road.

"I'm fabulous, thank you so much for asking darling. I've met a gorgeous French man named Henri Bouchard and Jackie he's gloriously rich! You should see the penthouse he owns in the Avenue Montaigne, it's gorgeous. You would love it."

Jackie inhaled deeply, trying to keep her anger under control. It shouldn't surprise her that her mother had already found a new boyfriend, but her daddy had only gone to prison 3 months ago, and Pam had moved on already, like their marriage was nothing more than a source of income for her.

"You're dating someone already? But you're still married to daddy? Does he know you aren't waiting for him?"

Jackie heard the sound of Pam sighing.

"Your father is going to be in prison for a long time Jackie. I can't be expected to wait around for him."

"But does he know you aren't waiting for him?" Jackie repeated her question again, this time in a sterner tone.

"Jackie, I didn't call to discuss your father," Pam pointed out, avoiding the question once again and telling Jackie all she needed to know in the process.

"No, you called to tell me all about how great your new life is in Paris with Henri… Well I'm glad you're having the time of your life mother," her voice was filled with dry sarcasm.

"Oh, thank you, sweetheart." Jackie could practically see the smile on her mother's face as the woman totally ignored the sarcasm in her words. Pam had always chosen to hear what she wanted to hear and only that.

"I'm hoping one day you and Henri can meet. Maybe he'll even agree to fly you out to Paris and we can spend the weekend together eating pastries and drinking wine by the Eiffel tower."

"I'm 17 mother, I'm not allowed to drink alcohol yet." Jackie reminded her mother, even though she had her first taste of alcohol when she was 13 at a friend's party and that ship had pretty much sailed. She still wanted Pam to at-least pretend to be a mature parental-figure.

It didn't matter anyway, Jackie knew there was no way she was actually serious about flying her out to Paris to spend the weekend with her.

Pam was full of broken promises. She'd learnt that at a young age.

"Oh, I won't tell anyone sweetie. It'll be our little secret," Pam laughed from the other end of the line before pausing.

Jackie could hear a man's voice suddenly, although it was muffled so she couldn't quite hear what was being said.

She could take a guess of who the voice belonged to.

"Jackie," her mother began a moment later. "I'm sorry but I must get going. Henri is taking me out on a river cruise for the day and we're already late. Now, be a good girl for the Forman's and don't forget to study hard this year! We still want you to get that scholarship thingy."

"Bye mother," Jackie sighed into the phone as Pam hung up abruptly.

She'd waited a month for that call and her mother hadn't even asked her one single question about herself, instead she'd spent the whole time bragging about how great her new life in Paris was.

She wasn't sure why that upset her so much, she knew who her mother was, she should have expected so much.

She hung the phone back up on the wall and turned to the Forman's, who were all staring over at her with looks of concern and pity on their faces. Even Eric was looking at her as if he felt bad for her.

"Honey are you alright?" Kitty asked her.

Jackie couldn't handle the sympathetic looks, if she stayed in that kitchen any longer she was bound to cry, and she didn't want to give her mother the satisfaction.

"I'm fine… Just not hungry anymore, excuse me." Jackie said quickly as she by-passed the Forman's at the kitchen table and ran out the sliding doors. She kept running to the end of the drive way where she stopped and bent her head down between her knees, her hair fell around her face like a curtain, keeping the world out.

She placed her hands on her knees and focused on her breathing.

Catching her breath, she tried to stop the tears from flowing.

Her mother's call had proved to Jackie that Pam never truly cared about her. The silent treatment she'd been receiving since she arrived in Point Place had been better than this.

She was inhaling and exhaling heavily, trying to trick her brain into thinking she was fine when the sound of approaching footsteps broke her out of her daze.

"Jackie, what are you doing?"

She lifted her head to see Hyde walking towards her from the Camino parked in the street. She stood up straight and smoothed out a crease in her pleated skirt.

"I was just… I was just coming back from a run," she made up quickly.

Hyde looked over at her disbelievingly. She was wearing high heeled boots, a knee length pleated skirt and a chiffon blouse, her hair was still perfectly curled and her makeup still flawless. There was no way he'd believe that she was just exercising.

"A run?" Hyde questioned, and Jackie nodded, going down with the lie. "Stop bullshitting me… Who do you think I am, Kelso?"

She sighed loudly, knowing when she was fighting a losing battle.

"Can't you just leave it alone?"

"Uh no," he responded quickly.

She looked over at him, expecting to see pity in his eyes. But Hyde wasn't looking at her the way the Formans had been, there was no pity in his eyes-only genuine concern. Cause he had been through the same crap as her, he knew what she needed now wasn't sympathy or pity, but someone who could listen to her vent for as long as necessary about her lousy mother without making up excuses for her.

And if she were to confide in anyone, she knew it was going to be him.

"My mother just called," Jackie informed him.

Hyde nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Guessing it didn't go well."

She shook her head. "No, it didn't."

"You want to talk about it?" He offered.

"I don't know yet," she admitted honestly, not sure if she was ready just yet to vent out her frustrations.

"That's cool."

"Can we just go somewhere?" She asked him suddenly. She needed to take her mind off her mother and her messed up family. Steven was the best option, he always knew how to cheer her up, even if he didn't realize it.

"Yeah… Let's go, doll."

He led her to the Camino and Jackie got into the car in silence. She had no idea where he was taking her, but she didn't care. She'd go anywhere with him.

* * *

Hyde had drove around town twice before finally coming up with the perfect place to take Jackie. She'd hardly spoken to him at all since they got into the Camino and he didn't want to push her into talking about her ma before she was ready.

Usually, trying to get Jackie to shut the hell up was like getting blood out of a stone. Which only made her silence now, even that more unnerving. When he'd turned the radio on, ACDC had been playing, he'd expected her to complain and change the station until she found one playing ABBA like she'd normally do but this time she hadn't said a word.

Bickering about the radio music was usually a given when she was in his car, so the fact that they were now listening to Zeppelin without one word of complaint from her, was more than unsettling.

Pam must have really screwed up. Now he was paying the consequence. Cept' this time it didn't bother him so much, he kind of liked that he'd been the one she'd came too for comfort. Even though he still had no fucking clue what he was doing, he knew he'd try his hardest to cheer her up.

Before they reached their destination, he'd made a quick detour to Fatso Burger. He remembered food helping to cheer her up the last time she'd been bummed out over her messed up family and figured it couldn't hurt. He was also pretty sure she hadn't eaten, considering he could hear her stomach rumbling every other minute.

She sat beside him in silence and picked at the food sheepishly during the rest of the car trip before they arrived at their end point.

Mount Hump.

Taking her here was a risk.

The mountain spot had a reputation that she was surely to have heard of by now. Teenagers would flock to this spot from all corners of Wisconsin, just to get it on in the backseat of their cars. Even Hyde had been here on multiple occasions with different girls, but tonight was different.

He wasn't bringing her here for _that. _

Despite the unfortunate reputation, he'd brought her here because Mount Hump was probably the most attractive spot in all of Point Place. The mountain stretched high up, overlooking the entire town and then some and the view was second to none. The trees were also not as thick here then they were in other areas of the woods, allowing plenty of room to park the Camino as well as overhead space to star gaze.

There was also no chance that they'd run into someone else. No one came to Mount Hump on Sunday nights, so they would have plenty of privacy incase she wanted to talk about her lousy mother.

"Mount Hump?" Jackie questioned as they pulled up. "If you brought me here to have sex with you in the woods… The answer is probably no."

_Probably no… _He tried his best to ignore the implications, but his heart pounded harder and faster, betraying him in the process.

"Not why I bought you here, but good to know," he cleared his throat and told her as they both exited the Camino. "Thought you'd like the view," he added and watched as Jackie stepped forward to the edge of the hilltop and took in the view.

It had gotten dark since they'd left the Forman's, but the street and house lights lit up the town below them, making it clear to spot even through the trees and the dark night sky.

"Wow, you can see everything from up here," Jackie breathed out, in awe while Hyde leaned back into the Camino, turning the radio up a little louder so that they would hear it from outside. He left the passenger side door open after collecting the rest of their food.

"You were right, this view is beautiful" she said to him as he walked back over to her.

"Best we got in Point Place… But hey, we can still do that other thing if you're up for it," he joked and watched as she let out the first laugh he'd heard from her all night.

"You're a pig," she told him but still kept that smile on her face.

"You've said that before," he reminded her as he walked towards the flatbed of the Camino.

He'd parked the car strategically so that the back was positioned directly in-front of the view. He lowered the tray down, and took a seat on the edge, placing the Fatso Burger take out bag next to him as Jackie jumped up on his other side.

He wordlessly handed her what was left of her burger before digging into his own food. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while as they finished off their meals.

Jackie was first to break the silence.

"So, this is where you take your dates," she stated quietly, eyeing the surrounding area carefully.

Hyde slowly swallowed the food in his mouth to buy him some extra time. Discussing his past with her always made him uncomfortable, but he knew it was a conversation they needed to have if anything was ever going to happen between the two of them.

"Wouldn't really call them dates," he said after clearing his throat.

Yes, he'd hung out with a lot of chicks before, and yes some of them he had brought here but he'd never thought of them as real dates. He'd never done the whole dinner and a movie thing, no one had ever been worth the effort. Till now, maybe.

"Did you sleep with them out here?"

Hyde eyed her curiously, wondering why she was asking so many questions all of a sudden. She was refusing to look at him now, instead choosing to focus on the distant lights of their home-town and he couldn't get a read on her.

"Some of em'… It never meant anything though, was just using them."

Jackie suddenly turned to him with a shocked look on her face and he instantly regretted his words.

"Did you tell them, that?"

Hyde tried to think back at all the others that had come before her but was finding it hard to remember.

"Didn't have too. The knew what they were getting into," he shrugged and caught the confused look on her face. Clearly, she wasn't getting it.

"And they didn't care?" She questioned.

"Why would they? They got what they wanted, I got what I wanted… Was a win-win man," he desperately wanted this conversation to be over with. "You getting it now?" He wondered as he readjusted in his spot so that his body was facing her.

She paused for a moment as the wind picked up around them, blowing a strand of hair into her face. His fingers itched to reach out and tuck it behind her ear, but instead he chose to redirect his urges somewhere else.

He needed something different (something other than her) to focus on, so he reached into his pocket and pulled out the pack of cigarettes that he kept in there for emergencies only.

"All I know is… If I were one of those girls that you were dating… or hanging out with, whatever you want to call it. I'd want you to tell me exactly where we stood, regardless of your reputation."

As she spoke he pulled out his lighter, placing the cigarette between his lips and lighting up. He inhaled deeply in an attempt to distract himself from the fluttering feeling inside his stomach. But as the tabaco burned its way down to his lungs, the fluttering feeling still remained.

There were so many unspoken words between them and he wanted to tell her that things would be different between them because she was different to him. He actually had feelings for her, unlike those other girls. But admitting that shit to her was way too risky right now.

He exhaled the smoke from his lungs in the opposite direction of Jackie before responding.

"Guess I've never dated a girl like you before," he admitted, pointing out the obvious.

"Guess not." She agreed, eyeing him carefully as he pressed the cigarette to his lips once more. "You know, that stuff will kill you," she pointed out, scrunching her nose up as he blew the smoke from his mouth.

He'd heard it before and knew it was probably true, but he could quit whenever he wanted to. He only smoked tabaco when smoking pot wasn't an option. A habitat he probably picked up from his days living with Edna.

Still, it was kinda cute knowing she worried about his bad habits.

"I like to live my life on the edge, doll," he joked, but Jackie didn't laugh. "My ma used to smoke 2 packs a day and she's still alive… As far as I know, haven't heard from her in a while" he added even though he hated the comparison to his mother. Edna had been addicted to cigarettes, and was a raging alcoholic, he never wanted to get that bad.

"Maybe that's a good thing," Jackie mumbled.

Hyde eyed her curiously. "What are you trying to say Jackie?"

"I'm starting to think that I might be better off not speaking with my mother. Considering how tonight's conversation went." She whispered and if they weren't sitting so close together he probably wouldn't have heard her.

He'd been waiting all night for her to break down, but she sat tall beside him, not a tear in sight. Maybe she was finally starting to realize that she deserved better than the crap her mother was pulling on her.

"If that's what you want," he shrugged, in his personal opinion; not speaking to Edna had done a lot more for him then speaking with her ever had. But his situation was different to hers and he couldn't make decisions for anyone else's lives based of his own experiences.

"I don't know," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I just wish she were a little less selfish… We spoke for like 3 minutes before she hung up on me and she spent the entire time talking about herself, she never even asked me how I was... It's like she doesn't care about me at all."

She looked sad, and his jaw tensed. He really fucking hated seeing her like this. He'd never met her mother before, but he knew if he ever did, he'd be giving her a piece of his mind.

"Fuck her."

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Steven be serious for a second."

He stubbed his cigarette out and threw it down onto the ground before turning back to her. "I'm being serious man. Fuck her, cause' she must be insane to not want to know you…"

"Do you really think that?" Jackie blinked over at him.

"Yeah, I do."

He'd already said too much, shown too much vulnerability for his liking but the smile she was now flashing him, made everything worth it.

"Steven… I'm really glad that we re-met," she told him a moment later, biting down on her bottom lip. "I honestly don't know what I'd do without you. Last week when you weren't talking to me, it was really hard…"

He felt a surge of guilt run through him. He'd been selfish last week, avoiding her had been one of his worst ideas yet. All he'd managed to accomplish was hurting her and that had been the opposite of his intentions.

He owed her an explanation for that.

* * *

Jackie watched Hyde as she waited for his response. He looked uncomfortable, but she couldn't blame him, their conversation had somehow gone from shitty parents to their current non-existent but complicated relationship.

"I know… Jackie, I shouldn't have blown you off like that," he finally said, and she knew that it was the closest she'd get to an apology from him.

He looked sincere and she could tell he was remorseful for the way he'd treated her the previous week, but she hadn't brought it up to make him feel bad, so she quickly changed tactics.

"It's okay… I kind of get it, I made things weird when I tried to kiss you in the basement. I shouldn't have done that," the words slipped out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop herself.

Hyde shifted in his spot, moving slightly closer to her. "Jackie," he cleared his throat. "you trying to kiss me… that's, that's not the reason I was avoiding you."

She frowned, his words confusing her. "So why were you avoiding me?" she wondered in a quiet voice. Her heart pounding uncomfortably fast inside her chest while she waited for his reply.

But instead of responding, he slowly reached a hand up to remove his sunglasses, giving her a rare glimpse into his eyes. Time stood still, and she froze as he moved in closer to her, closing the remaining gap between them.

His head tilted towards her, and her eyes fluttered closed in anticipation. The air stilled around them and everything else ceased to exist as she waited for his lips to meet hers.

She'd been wanting this for so long and now that it was actually happening she couldn't quite believe this was reality. But there was no time to pinch herself, as Hyde's lips met hers a moment later.

And just like that, everything changed.

It took a second for her to recover from the shock before her lips began to respond to his. Her heart was beating twice as fast as normal, as she tried to match his rhythm.

He kissed like a man who knew exactly what he was doing, it was clear that he'd had plenty of practice before her, but she couldn't even bring herself to care.

She'd waiting for so long, and he was proving to her that he'd been totally worth the wait.

Their kiss was painstakingly slow, and Jackie, as impatient as ever was desperate for more. Her hands rose to cup his face, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss to pick up the pace. His beard scratched at her skin, but his lips were soft and skilled and made up for it.

She'd been kissed by quite a few boys in her 17 years, but never had any of them made her feel like this before.

Like one kiss was all it took to light her body on fire.

She could feel him drawing away from her, she wasn't ready for it to be over yet but the need for air was impending and her lungs were beginning to tighten up. He left one last soul crushing kiss on her lips before pulling away.

She whimpered at the loss of contact and opened her eyes to see him staring back at her. The cold air swept between them and she watched as he took her hands in his, drawing them away from his face and down between them.

"You feel that?" He asked her quietly.

She felt the butterflies in her stomach, the goosebumps on her skin and the hot blood pounding loudly through her body. All tell-tale signs for something that neither had prepared for.

Jackie bit down on her swollen lips and nodded. He reached a hand out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before responding.

"That's why I was avoiding you man… I wanted it to go away."

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**So, I spent hours editing this chapter and trying to get it perfect before posting (still not 100% happy with it but it's as good as it's going to get). I'm running on very little sleep, so apologies if there are more typos then usual! **

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and thank you once again for all you're support! You're reviews seriously keep me going so thank you to everyone who has taken the time to write one.**

** We're in the thick of the story now but there's still plenty more drama to come. Next chapter shows Jackie and Hyde dealing with the aftermath of their kiss...**


	13. About Last Night

Chapter 13.

Sunday, September 3rd.  
11:15pm

Hyde pushed the sliding door open, stepping aside so Jackie could walk into the kitchen first. They pair had just gotten back from Mount Hump. Jackie hadn't wanted to leave, but it was a school night and she needed to get back to the Forman's and reality. Even if all she wanted to do was go back to sitting on the Camino's flatbed with Steven, making out underneath the stars.

The night had started off terrible, the phone-call with her mother had sucked the soul out of her, but thanks to Steven it had ended up being one of her favorite nights yet. She hadn't been so blissfully happy since before her daddy went to prison, hadn't even thought it was possible to feel that way anymore.

Steven had proved her wrong and she was thankful to have him in her life.

But she still had no idea what their kiss had meant. They hadn't discussed it, not wanting to ruin what was happening between them with questions, instead they had chosen to just enjoy the moment and each others company. An unspoken mutual agreement that lead them to where they were now, unaware of where they stood and what the last 3 hours had meant to the other.

Now that they were back home, the chance to come clean was slipping through her fingers. She wanted to tell him that this was more than a fling to her, but the moment had passed, and she worried that she had missed her opportunity.

"Thank you for tonight," Jackie said, leaning her back against the kitchen counter top – an attempt to make the night last a little while longer.

Steven nodded as he closed the sliding door behind them. His sunglasses still hung from the pocket of his jacket, she thought it was probably the longest she had ever seen him go without wearing them.

"Don't sweat it doll," he said as he walked over to her. He stopped directly in front of her, leaving little space between the two.

She blushed under his intense gaze and smiled. "I had a really good time," she admitted to him, biting her lip and averting her gaze to the floor.

Hyde inched closer, reaching up to cup her face in his hands and turn her head so that she was looking up at him once again. "That's cool," he said, and Jackie rolled her eyes.

"That's cool?" She repeated, and his hands dropped from her face to her shoulders. "That's all you have to say?"

Hyde chuckled back at her quietly. "Alright man… Look, it was no worse than bowling," he added, shrugging casually.

Jackie frowned, "Bowling?"

"I don't hate bowling," he told her with a grin.

Jackie knew it was the closest she'd get to him admitting he had a good time with her and that she should just take what she could get. It would do for now but once she was done with him, she hoped he'd be able to express his feelings a little easier.

"I'm not crazy about the comparison of making out with _me_, to bowling… But I'll take it," she informed him, reaching her arms out to hug his waist and simultaneously pull him in a little closer to her, all in one smooth motion.

"Just so you know, I'm really lowering my standards here," she joked a second later.

Hyde nodded, moving his hands behind her neck and lacing his fingers through her hair. "That makes two of us," he agreed before dipping his head down to meet her lips with his in a slow kiss.

He had kissed her countless times that night, but every single one had felt like the first to her. He was definitely the best kisser she had ever experience, but it was more than that. She got flushed and hot by just the feel of him against her, as if his close proximity was all it took to turn her on and she had never experienced that with anyone else.

These new feelings she was experiencing around him were exciting, yet nerve racking all at the same time. But she was finding it hard to focus on feelings, good or bad, with him kissing her the way he was.

They both knew they'd have to stop eventually, she needed to go upstairs and him to the basement before the Formans caught them making out in their kitchen, but neither made a move to stop.

Hyde deepened the kiss; nudging Jackie's mouth open wider so that his tongue could slide over her own. His grip tightened in her hair, causing her stomach to drop and the blood to pool in her center.

She suddenly felt light headed as the need for oxygen increased. Less than a second later, as if he'd read her mind, Hyde was pulling away from her. A small moan escaped her lips in response, never wanting these moments to end with him, but her lungs were thankful for the much-needed air.

"Wow," she smiled, out of breath.

"I know, I'm a good kisser," he grinned, and she nodded to agree before he leaned down to kiss her one more time.

She was just relaxing into the kiss when the sound of the basement door opening rang through the kitchen, causing the couple to jolt apart from each-other just in time.

Eric walked into the kitchen, right as Hyde jumped away from Jackie.

"There you are," Eric eyed Hyde, ignoring Jackie's presence altogether.

She used the opportunity to calm her breathing and stand up straight, running a hand through her hair - she fixed the mess Steven had made with his hands and hoped her lips weren't noticeably swollen from his kiss.

She couldn't deal with Eric freaking out on them, if he found out about what her and Steven had really been doing all night.

"Where have you been man?" Eric continued to question, rummaging through the fridge as he spoke.

Hyde looked at Jackie quickly, before turning his attention back to Eric. "Worked late at the hotel," he lied, but Eric seemed to buy it.

They hadn't discussed what they would do about their friends, whether they were telling people or not. They hadn't really discussed anything actually, so she couldn't blame him for lying.

It was probably best to keep whatever was going on between them, just between them until they had time to talk privately.

"So, what are you doing in here with her?" Eric continued to question, uncapping a soda as he closed the fridge door and turned to glare at Jackie.

"Just ran into each other man," Hyde shrugged, keeping things casual. She was glad he was so nonchalant about things, she had never been the best at lying but he seemed to be a pro.

"Mom and Red aren't happy about your little disappearing trick after dinner tonight missy," Eric pointed out, taking a sip of his orange soda.

Jackie felt bad for not tell the Formans she was leaving, it definitely hadn't been her intention to disappear all night. "I just needed space," she told him but made a mental note to apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Forman tomorrow.

"Yeah well, space isn't in Kitty or Red Forman's vocabulary," Eric informed her before turning to Hyde. "Let's go downstairs man, I've been waiting in the basement all night for some circle time," he began walking off before Hyde had the chance to respond.

Once Eric disappeared back into the basement, Hyde turned to face Jackie. "Want to join?" He asked her in a quiet voice.

Jackie shook her head, she needed a clear mind to think over the events from the past 4 hours and unfortunately that meant officially ending her night with him.

"I'm going to bed, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hyde come on!" Eric shouted from the basement stairs.

Hyde rolled his eyes and paused. "Night doll," he said softly a moment later, quickly stepping towards her to kiss her goodnight.

Jackie blushed, raising her fingers to her lips where the feel of his kiss still lingered as he disappeared into the basement.

She really was in trouble now.

* * *

Monday, September 4th.  
The Forman's driveway.

Hyde had spent the whole day going over the events from the night before. It felt like that night had existed in some parallel universe where everything remained the same except for one huge difference, enter Jackie freaking Burkhart.

Breakfast had been a series of awkward glances in each-others direction. He'd caught her looking at him a couple of times, only to have her blush and look away quickly once she'd noticed him looking back.

She had been plaguing his thoughts every waking minute of the day and he had nothing to distract himself with.

Both him and Forman weren't scheduled to work until later that night, which normally meant spending the day together in the basement but instead, Eric had chosen to spend his day locked up in his room. The kid had only reappeared for lunch, before heading straight back to bed and offering Hyde absolutely nothing in the way of distraction.

Donna had community college, so she was no help to him. Fez and Kelso hadn't shown their faces all day, a rare occurrence for the two who normally spent all-day every-day at the Forman's and circle time on his own had been a bust.

So, he had 7 hours straight to go over the past night's events.

It was around 2 when he decided that something had to be done. He didn't feel himself, over thinking a situation just cause of a few innocent kisses, no matter how fuckin' hot those kisses had been, just wasn't something he did. That was Forman territory and he always thought he was better than that.

He needed to see her, speak to her alone before she got home from school and clear all this shit up before he went insane.

He was walking through the kitchen with his keys in hand, preparing himself to slip out of the house unnoticed to go pick her up from school when he ran into Mrs. Forman.

She was by the fridge, gathering baking supplies out of the top cupboards when she spotted him.

"Oh Steven, there you are," she smiled brightly at him, stopping him in his tracks. "Why don't you help me bake some cookies, I'll let you lick the spoon."

Hyde scratched at his beard, the offer was tempting but he had more important things to do. "Can't Mrs. Forman, on my way out," he told her.

"Well that's alright, next time," she waved him off and Hyde thought he was off the hook for a second. "Where are you off too?" she asked a moment later, shattering his hopes.

"Uh, just… Picking up Jackie from school," he mumbled and shrugged his shoulders casually.

He'd always had an issue when it came to lying, especially to Mrs. Forman. He just hoped she wouldn't make a big deal out of his omission and he could get out of the house without having to answer any more questions.

Looking at the older woman now, he realized that was probably just a pipe dream.

"You're picking up Jackie from school?" She questioned him, unable or unwilling to hide the telling smile on her face.

Hyde stood uncomfortably in front of her. "Yeah well, she's been bitching about how long the walk is and I'm not doing anything anyways…"

"That's very nice of you Steven," Kitty responded, moving around him, with a mixing bowl in her hands, to the bench top space next to the stove where her cooking ingredients lay spread out on the counter.

"I've noticed the two of you have been quite close lately," she added just as Hyde thought he could get out of the kitchen unscathed. "And I just want to say that I think you and Jackie make a very nice couple."

He froze in the middle of the kitchen, temporarily stunned by her insight. "Mrs. Forman, Jackie and I aren't dating," he pointed out a moment later, walking over to her.

When she didn't instantly respond, he continued, "We're just friend's man". It wasn't technically a lie, but that didn't change it felling like one coming from his mouth.

Kitty laughed as she poured some flour into the mixing bowl. "Are you sure?" she asked, clearly not buying what he was selling.

Having Mrs. Forman suspicious of Jackie and his relationship was something he couldn't deal with right now. He needed to shut this down before she started planning their non-existent wedding and naming their imaginary children before he even had a chance to figure out what was really going on between them.

"Yes, I'm sure. I don't like Jackie… She's shallow, and mean and bossy."

Kitty turned to face him, putting down the baking materials. "She's also beautiful, and smart and caring."

Hyde paused. "So, what are you getting at?" He wondered, not denying any of the words that had come out of her mouth.

"Well that maybe you like her for her good qualities, despite the bad ones. Because, I kind of think you do."

Hyde sighed and made one more attempt to throw her off course. "No, I don't like her. I can't like her, Mrs. Forman if I like her, shoot me."

The older woman turned to him, reaching her hand out in the shape of a gun and saying, "Pow".

He stared back at her as she smiled, impressed with herself. There was no point in pretending with her any longer, Mrs. Forman had seen right through him and called him out for his bullshit with one simple hand gesture.

"Now run along. If you don't leave soon you're going to be late and Jackie hates tardiness," she waved him off, turning her attention back to the cookies.

Hyde moved passed her. "See you later, Mrs. Forman," he mumbled, leaving the kitchen through the sliding doors.

He couldn't spend anymore time trying to convince Mrs. Forman that he didn't in-fact have feelings for Jackie. The woman always seemed to know what was going on with him, sometimes before he even realized it himself. She had her mind made up and there was no convincing her otherwise, he just hoped she'd keep the information to herself while he worked out things on his own end.

There were more pressing issues he needed to deal with in the moment anyway.

Like what the hell he was going to say to Jackie when he picked her up from school.

Things were still messy and clouded, feelings between them remained up in the air and he had no clue what she was thinking.

All he knew was, besides all of the things he had just said to Mrs. Forman, he liked Jackie. He liked her despite her bad qualities, he liked her for her wit and her humor and her brains and beauty and he was probably screwed for it, but he didn't care.

* * *

Monday, September 4th.  
Point Place High.

The final bell rang through the school, signaling the end of the day. Jackie was by her locker, shoving her homework into her handbag as her friend Troye waited beside her.

"Do you want to go to the Hub?" She asked him after closing her locker and swinging her hand bag over her shoulder. The football team didn't have practice on Mondays and cheer practice had been rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon, so she had a few hours to kill.

Troye shook his head as the two began walking down the main hall towards the front doors. "Can't, Coach wants the team in the gym Mondays now. First game of the season is next week, and he wants us in shape."

Jackie knew all about the game next Friday, being in the cheer-squad had made her privy to these sorts of events. The team had already started choreographing a new routine for the occasion and Jackie couldn't wait for the opportunity to show Julie what she was made of.

"You guys have practice almost every day of the week now. Don't you think that's a little over kill?"

Troye shrugged. "It'll be worth it if we win. My parents are coming to watch the game and if we lose I'll never hear the end of it."

Jackie rolled her eyes. Troye's parents were hard on him, especially when it came to football and he was always doing his best to try and please them even if it meant making himself miserable in the process.

"Stop worrying so much Troye," she told him as they exited the main building of their school. "You guys are going to win."

Troye didn't seem so convinced. "I hope so. I'm sorry I can't give you a ride home, gym session starts in like five." He'd offered her a ride home earlier in the day, back when they both had the afternoon free from extra-curricular activities.

"And I want to get there on time. Justin offered to spot me," he added quickly with a smile.

He'd told her earlier that nothing had happened between the two at the party last weekend but that hadn't stopped Troye from crushing hard. Even if Justin was notoriously known through campus as a womanizer and was most definitely not interested in men.

"Sounds fun," she said sarcastically. "And that's okay… I could probably convince Trish to give me a ride."

It may have only been her second week at the school, but she had climbed the social ladder quicker than any other before her. Julie still didn't like her, but Jackie had managed to win over everyone else despite her constantly rallying against her.

"Looks like you won't have too," Troye commented, looking over her shoulder at the car park. "Isn't that Hyde, over there?"

Jackie turned her head quickly to see what he was staring out. She spotted Steven instantly, he was leaning against the hood of the Camino, parked at the front of the car park.

He must have come here to pick her up, after the awkward breakfast they'd shared with the Formans that morning she'd thought he would go back to avoiding her like he had last week. The fact that he'd came here unprompted, for her, put a huge smile on her face.

"Why is he talking to Julie?" Troye's words pulled her back to reality and she quickly spotted the blonde cheerleader, standing next to Steven. She was smiling up at him as he responded to something she had said, and Jackie watched in horror as the blonde suddenly reached out to place a hand on his arm, throwing her head back in laughter.

She felt anger bubble up inside of her. "Troye, I'll see you tomorrow," she said to her friend, not bothering to wait for his response as she stormed across the quad and towards the El Camino.

Hyde noticed her before she reached them, and she watched as he pushed off the hood of his car, ignoring whatever Julie was saying to him in the process. He never took his eyes off her as she approached them.

"Hey Jackie," Hyde greeted her casually, interrupting Julie in the process.

Julie had turned her gaze to Jackie, she could feel her practically burning a hole in the side of her face as she glared coldly at her, but Jackie refused to acknowledge the blonde, instead keeping her eyes on Steven.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, trying to suppress the anger she felt by him merely talking with her nemesis.

"Thought you could use a ride home," Hyde responded casually, as if it should have been obvious.

Julie, never the one to be ignored for long, spoke up before Jackie had the chance to respond. "Jackie, I didn't know you were dating an older man. Let alone one so foxy," she turned to the blonde just in time to spot the flirtatious smile she was throwing in Hyde's direction.

"We aren't dating," Jackie informed her through gritted teeth.

Julie looked back at Jackie and grinned. "Well, lucky me."

Hyde cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him. "Unlucky you, cause I ain't interested," he said to Julie and Jackie couldn't help but smile. It was exactly the kind of response she was hoping for.

Julie was laying it on pretty thick and any other guy would have loved the attention. Things between the two of them were left unclear from the night before and she'd panicked when she'd seen him and Julie flirting. But he'd rejected Julie's advances and, in the process, proved to Jackie that it was still her, he wanted.

"Oh, I'm sure," Julie responded sarcastically, seemingly unaffected by his rebuff. "Don't forget about practice tomorrow Jackie, we need to get you up to speed before the game next weekend," she turned to Jackie to pull rank on her once last time before taking her leave.

"I'll be there," Jackie responded before Julie walked away, leaving her and Hyde alone.

"That chick doesn't take no for an answer," Hyde spoke up once Julie was far enough away that she wouldn't hear their conversation.

Jackie looked back at him and crossed her arms over her chest, still slightly annoyed by the whole situation. "Why didn't you just tell her to get lost?" She questioned him harshly.

"What, like you told Casey to get lost on Friday?" Hyde pointed out.

Jackie shook her head. "That was different. Casey isn't out to get you every waking minute. Julie hates me, she probably saw you and I at the party together on Friday and was flirting with you to get back at me!"

Hyde frowned. "What the hell are you talking about? What's she got to get back at you for?"

Jackie groaned, stomping her foot on the ground. "You don't get it. She thinks I'm trying to steal her title as the most popular girl at Point Place high."

"Are you?"

"No, well… Okay technically yes, but that's not the point. She's threatened by me, so she'll try to do anything she can to get under my skin. Just please don't talk to her again."

Hyde stared back at her, looking at her like she was speaking a different language. "Jackie, I don't give a shit about that stuff. I didn't even want to talk to her, she just came up to me and started going on about my beard."

Jackie paused and took a moment to breath, realizing she was probably over-reacting and had nothing to worry about when it came to him and Julie.

"Well… It is a pretty sexy beard," she told him quietly, flashing him a flirty look.

Hyde nodded. "I know, that's what she said man."

She glared at him and he laughed.

"I'm kidding. Just get in the freakin' car." He told her, walking around the hood of the Camino to get into the drivers-side.

Jackie followed him into the car, sliding across the bench seat to the middle just to be closer to him. She smiled over at him and he ignored her back, starting up the engine and pulling the Camino out of the parking lot.

"Thank you for coming to pick me up, you didn't have to do that," she pointed out.

"Uh, yeah well…" He cleared his throat and Jackie eyed him curiously, now that they were alone she noticed that he seemed almost nervous about something. "Wasn't doing anything anyway," he added a second later.

"Okay…" she trailed off and the car fell into silence.

She watched him as he ignored her presence, his eyes were glued to the rode in front of him and his hands were at the perfect 10-2 o'clock position on the wheel. He was a stiff as a board, an unusual look on a guy who was normally cool calm and collected.

They rode together in silence for a few minutes.

The events from the night before were looming over them. Unspoken words that poisoned the air around them until the awkward toxicity was almost choking. She knew they needed to talk. But as she opened her mouth to bring up the elephant in the room, no words came out.

She needed a distraction, something else to focus on instead of the tension in the air until they reached the Formans house. So, she leaned forward and began to fiddle with the radio, changing the stations rapidly to find one playing a song she knew.

"Jackie," Hyde grumbled as she continued her search. "What did I say about touching the radio?"

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Not too," she mumbled, settling on a radio station playing a Sonny and Cher song before sitting back against the bench seat.

Hyde reached out and turned off the radio, she thought just to annoy her.

"Steven, I liked that song!" She argued back, going to turn the device back on but Hyde bet her to it placing his hand over the on/off button.

"First off, Sonny and Cher are both idiots and don't belong in the Camino," he started. "Secondly… Don't you think we outta' talk?"

She frowned. "About what?"

Hyde sighed. "About last night man."

Jackie paused, surprised that out of the two of them, Steven had been the one to bite the bullet first. She'd expected him to act as if nothing had changed, or that last night had never happened, she hadn't expected _him_ to want to talk about it.

"Hang on," she began, turning her body to face him in her seat. "_You _want to talk about last night? Steven Hyde actually wants to discuss feelings?" she reiterated.

Hyde turned his head to look at her, glowering. "You know what, don't worry about it."

Jackie shook her head quickly. "No wait, I'm sorry," she was in damage control now. "I want to talk about it, I do. I was just surprised you wanted too… I mean let's face it, you aren't exactly a 'let's talk about our feelings' kind of guy."

She watched him carefully as his focus remained on the road in front of him, hoping her big mouth hadn't ruined things. Steven took his time but responded a moment later.

"Yeah well uh… Situations a little different this time."

Jackie nodded, agreeing with him. "So, let's talk…" They fell into a silence and she nudged him with her elbow. "You start."

Hyde looked at her, his brow furrowed. "Uh…" He sighed and reached up to rub at his neck. "I'm no good at this kind of stuff," he admitted a moment later, making it evident just how nervous he really was.

She smiled and reached out to place her hand on his thigh. It was okay if he wasn't any good at this kind of stuff, cause' she was.

"Okay, then I'll start," she offered and noticed his shoulders loosen and relax. "I really liked what happened last night and I definitely want it to happen again."

If her honesty and forwardness threw him off, Jackie couldn't tell. She saw no use in hiding her feelings any longer, she was pretty certain now that he was feeling the same way she was. But when he didn't respond instantly, her confidence wavered.

"I had a lot of fun… Didn't you?"

"Course I did man. You're freakin' hot… It's just, there's a lot riding on this."

She frowned, not knowing exactly what he meant.

He turned to look at her and must have noticed the concerned look on her face because he quickly continued. "We live in the same house, think that changes the game. We fuck things up, there's no going back."

She bit her lip and paused. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't worried about the same thing, but she also thought that what she felt for him was worth that risk.

"This's got the potential to end badly, you sure you're gonna be cool with that?" He added, given Jackie a little time to think her answer through.

She knew this could end terribly. She liked him so much already and he had the power to completely destroy her. But if she didn't try, she knew she'd always regret it.

"It also has the potential to be something pretty great," she pointed out, flashing him a small smile in the process. "I want to see where this goes, don't you?" she asked right as they reached the Forman residence.

Hyde parked the Camino at the front of the house that they both called home. Jackie spotted their friends in the driveway, Kelso and Donna were playing basketball while Fez and Eric watched by the Vista Cruiser. They looked like they were having fun but that wasn't a surprise, they always had fun together, no matter what they were doing.

Jackie wondered if her and Steven's relationship, or whatever they were calling it, would change the group dynamic. Sure, she fit in with the group, but Eric was Steven's best friend, and he didn't exactly love her.

Michael would certainly be jealous and probably do everything he could to try and ruin their relationship.

Donna and Fez would be the only ones who wouldn't care. She wasn't sure how Mr. and Mrs. Forman would react, but there would probably be a whole new set of rules the teens would have to adhere by once they found out.

This was going to be hard, but she knew in her heart it would be worth it. Hopefully Steven did too.

He looked back from her to their friends in the driveway, luckily the Camino was parked far enough away that none of them had spotted the two yet, but Jackie knew they had a limited amount of time to work this out before they were busted.

Steven must have come to the same conclusion, but instead of responding to her last question, he leant forward and captured her lips with his.

Jackie responded to the kiss instantly, closing her eyes and enjoying the feel of his lips against hers. He cupped her small face in his hands and she moved closer to him so that their bodies were pressed against each-others.

When he broke away from her, he kept her face in his hands and stared into her eyes.

"Fuck it… Lets just do what we want."

Jackie smiled brightly, happy he'd come to the same conclusion as her. But the sounds of their friend's chatter, and laughter broke through the moment and Steven moved his hands away from her before turning to look back at them.

"What are we going to do about them?" She wondered. "They're going to freak out… I mean, Eric hates me."

"I don't care what Forman thinks," Hyde responded and even though she was glad he didn't care about his best friend's opinion of her, she knew it still complicated things.

"It's going to be harder trying to figure out what _this_ is," she signaled a hand between the two of them. "With everyone watching and judging us."

Hyde sighed. "So, you want to keep this a secret?" He put two and two together.

She shook her head quickly, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. "Not exactly a secret, just… Just not tell them until we know that_ this_ is real."

It wasn't like she wanted to hide her feelings for him, or that she wanted to keep them a secret. But Steven was right before, they had a lot riding on this. And until they could label whatever it was going on between them, they needed to protect it at all costs.

"Keeping this just between us, could be fun," he told her, and she let a sigh of relief out.

"I'm in doll… If you think you can keep your hands off me for long enough," he grinned back at her and she laughed, slapping him lightly over his shoulder.

"I'll try my hardest."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! And a special thanks to everyone who took a moment to review last week, I was nervous about that chapter and it meant so much to hear that you all loved it! **

**Next weeks chapter will delve into Jackie and Hyde's secret relationship. Do you think its going to be as easy at they think to hide from their friends? Or will their plans wind up biting them in the ass? **


	14. Sneaking Around

Chapter 14.

Thursday, September 7th.  
The Hub.

It had been three days since Jackie and Hyde had agreed to keep their (sort of) relationship a secret and already it was harder than she had anticipated. Despite living in the same house, finding time or opportunities to be alone together without arousing the suspicion of their friends, was proving to be a difficult task.

Between her spending her days at school and her afternoons at cheer-leading practice and Steven's busy work schedule, their free time rarely lined up in their favor. But today they had their first secret rendezvous planned and to say Jackie was excited, would be an understatement.

She had just finished up at cheer-leading practice and he had time to spare before his shift started at the Holiday Hotel, so they had arranged to meet up at the Hub. A neutral zone, in the middle of Point Place High and the hotel where hopefully they could get the alone time she had been craving since Monday.

It was hard being so close to Steven but not being able to touch him or kiss him the way she wanted, and she knew he was having trouble with it as-well, his little actions told her as much. Whenever their friends weren't looking, or if they found themselves alone in the same room (even if it was only briefly), Steven would make the most of the opportunity and pull her in for a quick kiss.

But whatever small moments they had, wasn't enough to curb her cravings. So, she had been looking forward to their pseudo-date all day long and had even spent an extra few minutes in the locker rooms after practice to make sure her hair and makeup were perfect. She'd left the uniform on though, knowing he liked it on her.

She entered the Hub with a skip in her step. The bell above the door rang, signaling her arrival but no-one in the hangout seemed to care. Thursday afternoons weren't as busy, so the Hub was quieter than usual, and her entrance hadn't stirred any type of arousal.

Jackie scanned the room to look for an empty table that she could sit at while she waited for Steven to arrive. And while she looked, a pair of green eyes met her gaze from the opposite side of the room. She froze as she recognized who the green pair belonged too.

Donna and Michael were sitting together at the back of the Hub, unknowingly destroying her and Steven's plans.

Donna had spotted her and was waving her over to join them. Jackie slumped, disappointed. She didn't want to hang out with those two right now, she wanted to hang out with Steven but if she ignored them and left, they would get suspicious. So unwillingly she walked over to the pair.

"Hey Jackie, what are you doing here on your own?" Donna wondered, ever the curious cat, as Jackie approached them.

"Oh um," Jackie sat down in an empty chair between the two, racking her brain to come up with a good reason as to why she would be here all on her own.

"I like the burgers here…" She said before inwardly cursing herself for her inability to lie decently. No one would believe she had come alone just for a burger, especially since the burgers here weren't even very good.

"Me too! I like the little meat chunks," Kelso agreed, naively adding validity to her cover story.

Jackie nodded her head, momentarily distracted as the bell by the entrance rang again. She turned to look in that direction hoping to see Steven, but to her disappointment it wasn't him who had entered the hangout, but a nerdy looking freshman instead.

"Are you going to order one?" Donna questioned, snapping Jackie back to reality.

"What?" She frowned, confused.

"A burger. Are you going to order one?"

"Oh no thanks," she shook her head, peering back at the door and missing the odd look Donna was giving her.

"Uh okay… So, how was practice?" The taller girl questioned a moment later.

"Long… Julie is working everyone really hard trying to prepare for the first game of the season but she's pushing me even harder. She says it's because I'm new and she wants to see what I can do but I know it's because she wants to break me and get me to quit."

"You can't let her get what she wants," Donna pointed out.

"Oh, I won't. I'm not going to quit. I'm going to stick it out until she gets bored and moves onto tormenting some other poor soul."

"Uh, well good for you Jackie..."

Jackie smiled back at the red head. She was grateful for Donna's friendship and she'd been feeling really guilty lately, not being able to tell her about her and Steven was hard and causing a strain in their friendship. She just hoped Donna would understand their reasoning in keeping things between the two of them and would be forgiving when the truth came out (_if_ it came out).

"Thanks lumberjack… You guys should come to the game next Friday to watch me," she suggested suddenly with a big smile on her face. She loved being the center of attention and would love to show her new friends just how talented she really was.

"Cheerleaders, hot dogs and beer? Count me and Fez in," Kelso accepted her invitation quickly.

She turned to look at Donna, who was taking her sweet ass time deciding.

"Please Donna?"

The red head sighed. "Although I think football is an overtly sexist sport… I'll go because you asked nicely."

"Yay," Jackie clapped her hands together, excited. "You guys are going to have so much fun," she pointed out genuinely.

"Yeah right," Donna stated sarcastically, obviously doubtful.

Jackie looked over at Michael hoping to see some excitement returned, but the boy was no longer paying attention, instead choosing to focus on his pop and sucking on the straw loudly.

"So, what were you guys talking about before I got here?" She wondered, only now noticing how strange it was to see Donna and Kelso hanging out alone together.

All thoughts of Steven and their ruined date left her mind as she focused on the mystery that was in front of her.

Donna smirked. "Kelso has girl problems," she teased.

Kelso gasped and glared back at her. "I do not Donna… People with faces like this," he motioned a hand over his face, "Don't have girl problems".

"What girl?" Jackie asked, curiously. Keeping track of Michael and all the girls he was interested in was proving to be a difficult task.

Donna nudged Kelso with her elbow. "Go on, tell her."

Kelso groaned, leaning his head down onto the table. "Brooke," he said, his face was pressed against the flat surface and in turn, muffling his voice.

"Who?" Jackie scrunched her nose up.

"Remember the girl from Vanstock?" Donna filled in for him.

"Wait, you're still thinking about her?" Jackie questioned Kelso, surprised by the sudden turn of events. She hadn't heard anything about the girl from Vanstock since they had gotten home and had thought he had moved on long ago.

It looked like she was wrong.

Kelso lifted his head from the table. "No, I'm not still _thinking _about her," he repeated stubbornly. "It's just… A man has needs and until you come to your senses, I'm going to have to look elsewhere to fulfill those needs."

Both girls rolled their eyes.

"So, what's the problem. She won't put out?" Jackie guessed a moment later, figuring that was the only thing Kelso would get so upset about.

"No," Kelso muttered. "Must have been so blitz out by my good looks that she gave me the wrong number."

"Kelso was telling me about her the other day and I realized she sounded familiar. Turns out Brooke from Vanstock is actually the same Brooke that I used to work on the school paper with," Donna told Jackie.

"No way!" Jackie responded.

"She works at the library in town," Donna nodded.

"Did you go down there?" Jackie questioned Kelso.

"Yes, but she refuses to go out with me. I mean how do you get a girl to come to you when you repulse her?"

Jackie paused to think before gasping. "Oh, you should ask Eric how he does it!"

Kelso blinked back at her before grinning. "That's a great idea Jackie. You know what… You aren't just good to have around for your looks, you're smart too," he complimented her in his own special way.

"But it is good to have another beautiful person in the group. Before you, we were out-numbered by the ugo's," he added a second later.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Kelso, if you want Brooke to like you. Maybe you should go to the library and show her that you can be smart."

He groaned. "I hate the library." He said just as the bell to the front door rang.

Jackie wiped her head around quickly, spotting Steven instantly as he walked through the door into the teen hangout.

He noticed their group less than a second later and began to walk towards their table. He was wearing his sunglasses, so Jackie couldn't tell whether or not he was as disappointed by Donna and Michael's unexpected presence as she had been.

"Hey," Hyde greeted the friends as he reached their table, his eyes lingering on Jackie's before he took the empty seat across from her.

"Hyde, what are you doing here?" Donna questioned.

"What are you my wife? Why do you care?" He shut her down smoothly, impressing Jackie in the process.

"Aren't you working later?" she continued.

Hyde shrugged. "Had some time to kill before my shift started… Anyway, why you asking me so many questions? Kelso's the one blowing off work."

"Na uh, I'm not working till Thursday," Kelso responded.

"Today is Thursday you moron."

"Oh… Hey Hyde, can you cover for me at work?"

Hyde exhaled, clearly annoyed but nodded his head anyway.

"Wait so you really just came here on your own to 'kill time'?" Donna asked, bringing the conversation back to Hyde's cover story. The look on her face proved to Jackie that she knew something was up.

"Yeah, so what? Get off my back man," He responded coldly, avoiding Donna's gaze.

The red head was clearly on to them, her eyes darting back and forth from Hyde and Jackie who were both looking anywhere but at each-other.

"Whatever Hyde… So, we're all going to watch Jackie cheer at the game next Friday. You coming?" she wondered, watching Hyde carefully.

Jackie looked back over at Hyde with a pleading look in her eye. She knew Donna was testing the two right now, but she did really want him to come and watch her perform.

"Yeah right, Hyde at a high school football game," Kelso laughed first.

"I'm sure Jackie would love it if you came to support her," Donna pointed out, raising an eyebrow up at Hyde. The two were now engaged in a stare off, unspoken words filled the air, but Jackie couldn't read any of them.

"Yeah well… Like Kelso said, I don't do high school football games."

Jackie knew he had to throw Donna off, but she was still disappointed. The afternoon had officially become a disaster, she'd wanted to spend the next hour making out with Steven in the Camino, but Donna and Michael had crashed their plans and now she'd have to wait for the next opportunity to get him alone.

Whenever that would be.

* * *

Sunday, 1:00am.  
September 10th.  
The Forman's basement.

Hyde had finished a long night of work at the Holiday Hotel when he returned to the occupied basement just after midnight. Working 8 hours with both Roy and Kelso had been grueling and the only thing he wanted to do when he got home was smoke up and head to bed.

Well maybe that wasn't the only thing he wanted to do, but Jackie had plans with her cheer-leading friends and considering their recent bad luck he didn't expect to find her waiting for him in the basement like he'd hoped.

Instead he'd found Forman and Fez, hanging out on the couch.

A circle was started up within minutes of Hyde's return, and the three friends sat around the spin-wheel table. Incensed burned, smoke filled the room and The Rolling Stones played softly in the background.

They'd shared a single joint, it hadn't been enough to get Hyde as high as he'd have liked but watching a giggling Forman and Fez had proved to be just as entertaining.

Almost an hour later and the friends were coming down from their high.

"I wonder what Laurie is doing right now," Fez randomly stated after a few minutes of peaceful silence.

"Probably down on her knees somewhere…" Hyde pointed out with a grin and Eric laughed.

"You laugh now, but when your good friend gets deported because of that Jezebel you will regret it," Fez glared back at his friends.

Hyde had heard all about Fez's issues trying to track down Laurie since Vanstock. An agent from immigration had recently contacted the family about some home visit they'd be inducting within the next month or so to verify if the marriage was legitimate.

If immigration found out the marriage was a fake, Fez would be deported.

"Fez man don't worry about it… I'm going to help you track down my floozy sister," Eric offered although Hyde wasn't sure how much help he'd really be.

Everyone knew the Forman siblings didn't get along, Fez would have more luck finding Laurie with Kelso's help.

"You will?" Fez questioned, perking up slightly and Eric nodded. "You are the best bother in law a man could ask for."

"Don't call me that," Eric informed him, scrunching his face up.

Hyde looked over at Fez and noticed a sad look on the guy's face, instantly he felt bad for him. "Fez, I know what'll cheer you up man. Forman's got a stack of nudie mag's hiding in the back-left corner of his closet… Go nuts buddy."

"Hyde, what the hell man?" Eric responded, looking annoyed.

Fez sat up straight, looking back and forth from Hyde and Eric. "I am too upset to enjoy pornographic magazines," he told the two and paused. "On a completely different note, I'm thirsty… I will be in the kitchen," he added a moment later, standing up from the lawn chair.

"Don't come looking for me," he warned both of them as he ran up the interior stairs.

Hyde chuckled at the obvious ulterior motive as Forman sent daggers in his direction.

What he didn't notice was; as Fez exited the basement, another had entered.

It wasn't until he heard heels coming down the stairs that he turned to look and saw Jackie. She must have just gotten home from her friends because she still wore her jacket.

They hadn't made plans to meet up tonight so her sudden appearance was a surprise, but a pleasant one at that. After Kelso and Donna had ruined their plans the other day they hadn't had another opportunity to get together. The past week had been a series of stolen touches and kisses and he was desperate for more.

And judging from the look on her face as she noticed Forman still in the room, she felt the same as he did.

"What are _you _still doing here?" Jackie crossed her arms over her chest as she stopped by the couch and glared at Eric.

"This is my house?" Eric responded.

"Yeah but, isn't it passed your bedtime?"

"I don't have a bedtime. Unlike some people, I'm not still in high school."

Eric wasn't budging but Jackie wouldn't cave either.

"I may still be in high school, but at-least I don't need my mommy to tuck me in every night," she continued, a look of determination in her eye.

"You're just jealous that I still have a mommy to tuck me in," Eric pointed out and Hyde watched as Jackie's expression changed from determination to hurt.

He always tried to stay out of Eric and Jackie's sparing matches, but he wouldn't let a comment like that slide.

"Low blow man," Hyde interjected, sending Eric a look of warning.

"What are you talking about? That was a good burn… What's happened to you lately?" Eric questioned, looking at Hyde like he'd just grown another head.

Hyde couldn't give a shit. Forman had no clue what it felt like not having parents, burning someone cause their rents' had abandoned them wasn't something he'd sit by and allow. Specially when that someone was Jackie, who he knew still struggled when it came to her mother's abandonment.

Thankfully Forman's comment hadn't done too much damaged as Jackie wasn't crying or retreating back up the stairs but standing her ground.

He'd turned to look at her and met her gaze, those big eyes of hers pulling him in to a point where he almost forgot all about Forman's presence.

Damn she looked good tonight.

She was biting her lip, probably knew it drove him crazy.

His jaw tightened, and his heart pounded faster.

He wanted her. It had been too long since their last rendezvous, all he needed to do was ditch Forman and he could have her in his arms like he craved.

"Nothing's wrong with me… Just don't think it's funny to burn someone cause their parents split on em'," Hyde commented as he turned back to look at his friend, he was trying to keep his tone light while he thought of ways he could get rid of Forman without seeming suspicious.

"You're forgetting that Jackie's the devil and doesn't have feelings," Eric said.

Hyde glared back at him. "Forman, you better shut-" he began but was cut off when Jackie, who now stood in-between himself and Eric, reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine Steven," Jackie said, removing her hand quickly as if not wanting Eric to notice what she'd done. Hyde could see his friend staring at the both of them in his peripheral vision, but he couldn't care less in the moment.

It had been her idea to hide their feelings to begin with, he'd just as sooner become public if it weren't for her hesitation. It didn't matter to him what Forman was going to say, or what anyone else thought either.

But Jackie had valid reasons for keeping this thing between the two of them a secret and he would do his hardest to play along until she was ready.

"Eric's lame burns don't affect me," Jackie continued moving her gaze from his to Eric.

She was sending daggers towards Forman, but he wasn't looking back at her, instead his eyes were trained on Hyde's. Maybe he was working out how Jackie and Hyde really felt about each-other, but Hyde couldn't focus on damage control now.

All he could think about was Jackie. Her lips on his. Her body pressed against his. The sexy moan she made when he kissed her neck. He was intoxicated with thoughts of her, racking his brain for a way out.

But Jackie bet him to it.

"Now if you excuse me… It's after my bedtime," she spoke out first, turning towards the interior stairs and only looking back at Hyde when she reached the first step. She gave him a sultry look and disappeared up the stairs a second later.

Hyde returned his gaze to Eric's.

"You alright man?" Eric asked him, eyeing him oddly.

Hyde nodded as he stood up from his chair. "Fine… I'm going for a drive," he told him quickly.

He headed towards the back door, hoping it would through Forman off and look less suspicious then if he had just followed Jackie out the way she'd left.

"Meeting a girl?" Eric questioned right as Hyde reached out and grabbed the doorknob of the back door.

He kept his gaze in front of him. "Something like that," he muttered before taking his exit from the basement.

He realized Jackie and him might be living on borrowed time, they could only keep this secret thing going for so long until their friends worked out what was really going on. But that was a problem for another day, tonight was about her.

He hooked his shades onto his shirt as he rounded the backyard and headed towards the side door at the kitchen, hoping that Jackie would be waiting for him inside. He didn't want to have to climb the stairs up to her bedroom, which was uncomfortably close to where Red and Mrs. Forman were sleeping. One wrong move could mean waking them up and getting caught somewhere he definitely shouldn't be.

As scary as the thought of Red busting him sneaking into Jackie's room was, he knew he'd take the risk anyway.

But as he rounded the corner of the backyard into the driveway, he ran directly into the girl who had been occupy his every thought.

Jackie had come looking for him.

"Steven," she breathed out, the cold air escaping her lungs.

He didn't want to waste any time.

Quickly he grabbed hold of her arms, pulling her into him and crashing his lips against hers. It had been a day or so since their last kiss, and even longer since they shared an embrace that lasted more than a few seconds, but the wait was worth it.

He forgot how fucking good this felt.

She was kissing him back with just as much force and heat as she wrapped her arms up and around his neck, pressing her body into his.

He forced her mouth to open wider, so that he could slide his tongue over hers. She tasted like cherries and bad decisions and he loved every fucking moment of it.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tighter as he began to walk her backwards. Her body hit gently against the Vista Cruiser and she let out a small moan.

"Wait," she spoke quietly, breaking their kiss.

Hyde moved his attention to her neck, peppering kisses across her soft skin.

"Steven… Oh God," she moaned as he began to suck on her sensitive spot.

_Fuck. _His pants tightened. He didn't think he'd ever get over the way she said his first name.

"We can't do this here," she pointed out through heavy breaths.

He lifted his head and noticed that she had her eyes closed. He knew she had a point, but he couldn't stop himself.

He leaned down and kissed her again. She sighed into the kiss and pulled him closer. She's digging her nails into the back of his neck, probably drawing blood but he's too busy to care.

"Let's go to my room?" She asked after a beat.

Hyde took a moment to catch his breath, knowing he needed to slow it down. It was hard to restrain himself around her, specially when she was so close. He desperately wanted to go to her room, but he knew it wasn't a good idea.

She wasn't ready yet and he respected that, but his dick was already hard, and he wasn't sure he had the willpower to hold back from her if he followed her up to her room like she wanted.

"Can't… Red catches me up there he'll kick my ass," he responded lamely.

She seemed to accept his reasoning and slumped back against the car. "This is harder than I thought it would be," she admitted with a pout. Her lips swollen for his kiss.

He knew exactly what she was talking about and was glad she'd been having as much trouble with this as he had. It proved that he had the same effect on her as she had on him.

"You're telling me," his gave briefly moved south to his erection, which was straining uncomfortably tight against his jeans.

Jackie rolled her eyes and used her hands, that were laying on his chest, to push him away from her.

"I'm being serious," she pointed out.

Hyde stepped forward and placed both his hands against the car on either side of her, boxing her in-between the Vista Cruiser and himself. "So am I," he told her.

He watched as she bit her lip before fisting her hands in his Aerosmith t-shirt and pulling him back towards her. She kissed him, slower this time around then the last. His neck strained awkwardly from constantly bending down to meet her halfway, but the pain was worth it.

"I wish we had more time together…" She sighed as she broke away from him a moment later.

"And I wish you'd stop talkin' so much," he glared back at her, mostly joking.

"Steven," she scolded him, furrowing her brow in a frown. There were a lot of different ways she said his name, but he'd decided that way was his least favorite.

He cleared his throat. "Alright, alright… What's on your mind doll?" he asked her, judging by the look on her face and how she was acting, he knew there was something she wanted to say to him.

"A lot of things…" She admitted, avoiding his eyes and choosing instead to focus on the floor between them. His stomach dropped, and he prepared himself for what was to come.

"You having second thoughts about this?" He questioned quietly, hoping he was reading her wrong.

Jackie's head instantly shot back up to meet his gaze. "No, not at all!" she exclaimed, shaking her head quickly.

His body relaxed in relief as he realized whatever was bugging her didn't have anything to do with him.

"So, what's going on?"

"It's just… This last week has been pretty tough. Not being able to see you was hard enough, but Julie's been breathing down my neck about the routine for next weeks game. She's put me on the top of the pyramid, I think she's hoping I'll fall and break my neck or something."

Hyde frowned. He didn't understand what this rivalry thing was about between her and the cheer-leading captain but obviously it was taking a toll on Jackie and he didn't like that.

"That chicks got problems," he stated the obvious.

"She told me that I'm on probation. If I stuff up next week she's going to try and kick me off the team… I know I can do it but I'm just really nervous."

He couldn't understand for the life of him why being on the cheer-leading team was so important to her. "Jackie, who cares what those girls think man… They aren't really your friends and popularity mean's shit all once you leave high school."

"It's not about that… I like being a cheerleader, it's just- It's important to me okay?"

"Okay," he shrugged.

She paused before smoothing her hands down his chest and around his waist. "Steven," she begun, her tone sweet and full of danger as she hugged his body to hers, pushing away from the Vista Cruiser.

"What?"

"I'd feel less nervous about the game next week if you were there cheering me on," she clued him in.

He'd said he wasn't going to go to the stupid football game with the rest of their friends and clearly it had been playing on her mind for days. At the time he hadn't thought it meant as much as it did to her but obviously he'd been wrong.

"Jackie," he sighed.

There were two reasons as to why he said he wasn't going to go.

The first was because Donna had been testing him when she'd asked if he would be attending the game or not and he had to throw her off for the sake of protecting Jackie's 'keeping their feelings a secret' plan.

The second was because he hated all school related events and wouldn't be caught dead at a football game on normal circumstances.

"Come on Steven," she interjected, obviously sensing his tone. He tried to create some space between them, but her arms tightened around his waist, making it clear that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Please?" she continued, pouting up at him.

_Damn it. _That fucking look worked every God damn time.

"Fine," he agreed, and she flashed him a triumphant smile, leaning up to peck him on the lips quickly. "But this is it for your high school shit okay? I'm drawing the line at football games."

"Sure, whatever you say," she said, a look on her face that made it clear she didn't believe him anyway. And why would she, he'd caved to her every request so far.

"You're a pain in the ass," he grumbled annoyed, but she only smiled back.

"You've said that before," she pointed out with a smirk.

He was annoyed but it had less to do with her and more to do with himself. He couldn't help himself when he was around her, he hated the fact that he was turning into some sap who caved at every little thing just cause' some chick said please and pouted a little.

But when the chick looked the way Jackie looked, who could really blame him?

"Shut your pie-hole Jackie," he told her as he cupped her face in his hands and leaned down to place his lips on hers.

He knew they couldn't stay out here all night, that eventually they'd have to stop, she'd go upstairs to her queen bed and he'd go downstairs to his army cot but until then he'd enjoy every single moment he got with her.

Cause no matter how bad she pissed him off, or how annoyed he was by the power she possessed over him, he still couldn't get enough of her.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! xx**


	15. Friday Night Lights

Chapter 15.

Friday night.  
September 15th.  
Point Place High, the football field.

The gang had arrived at the high school football game just in time to see the kickoff.

It was thanks to Donna that they weren't any later. She'd found the boys in Eric's basement watching _Charlie's Angels_, 10 minutes after the agreed upon time that they would leave for the game.

Now the friends were seated in the middle of the bleachers, watching grown men run up and down a field and fight for possession of a tiny ball.

Football was Donna's least favorite sport, but she had came to support Jackie. Even her fiancé (who was widely known to hate all types of sport) had agreed to come, but she guessed his attendance had less to do with Jackie and more to do with the fact that he didn't want to spend his Friday night alone.

Kelso and Fez, true to their word, had come along but it was Hyde's presence that was most surprising to Donna. Hyde hated all school events, never once during their high school days had he ever attended a football game, but yet here he was, begrudgingly seated on her right-hand side.

When she had asked what had changed his mind about attending, he'd remained zen and simply stated he had nothing else to do, but Donna knew him better than that by now.

She could tell he was there for the same reason that she was, and that reason was the tiny brunette who was currently prancing around on the edge of the football field in a cheer-leading outfit with pom-poms in both hands.

"What are we doing here?" Eric commented suddenly, a confused look on his face as he tried to follow along with the game happening in front of him.

"We're here for Jackie, you goon… She's performing at half-time," Donna reminded her fiancé, who hadn't stopped complaining since they had arrived.

"Can we leave after that?" Eric wondered but Donna didn't dignify his question with a response.

Jackie had just spotted the group in the crowd and was waving up at them, she looked like the epitome of an all-American girl in her uniform with her hair done up in a ponytail and a big smile on her face.

Donna waved back at her before turning to look at Hyde by her side. He was pretending not to notice Jackie, but she had caught him on numerous occasions looking in her direction since they had sat down. He must have thought that because he was wearing his sunglasses, no-one could tell where his attention was at, but he was forgetting that Donna knew certain things.

"Fez, look!" Kelso spoke up, pulling Donna from her thoughts and back to reality. He was pointed at a group of girls who were sitting lower down in the stands.

"What am I looking at?" Fez questioned back, straining his neck to see over the crowd. "Is it someone famous? Oh, is it Sissi Spacek?!"

"What? No man! It's that chick, Brooke!" he pointed out to Fez.

Donna squinted her eyes to get a better look and noticed Brooke Rockwell (old friend and Kelso's current girl crush), sitting with two of her friends at least 5 rows below from them.

"Think I should go over there?" Kelso asked a moment later.

"Why not Kelso," Hyde began. "She's told you to leave her alone, given you a fake number and called you an idiot on multiple occasions so yeah, I think you should definitely go talk to her."

Donna watched, trying not to laugh while Kelso looked over at Hyde with a confused expression on his face. She noticed that it was the same look he got whenever he attempted to do long division.

"You think so?" Kelso asked a moment later, totally oblivious to Hyde's sarcasm.

Hyde sighed and shook his head in response.

"Just go! You are Michael Kelso, the most beautiful boy of all the land. She would be crazy to not want to date you!" Fez exclaimed, forever Kelso's number one fan.

Kelso nodded his head. "You're right man. I'm going!" he exclaimed as he stood up from the steel bench-top seats.

"Kelso don't forget," Donna started, looking up at the tall boy. "Be smart," she reminded him but couldn't help the frown that formed on her face as she gave Michael Kelso the advice of showing intelligence that he clearly didn't possess.

"Right, thanks Donna," he seemed to appreciate the sentiment anyway and before she could say another word he had turned and left the group. Heading down the bleachers towards Brooke and her friends.

"That's going to be a disaster," Eric pointed out, watching his friend as if they'd just sent him on a suicide mission.

"Think of it this way man… We're about to be supplied with plenty of material to burn him with later," Hyde pointed out with a grin and Eric laughed.

"Fez is hungry," Fez said all of a sudden, standing up. "Hyde, let's go," he added, looking down at Hyde with an expectant look.

Hyde frowned back at him. "What the hell do you need me for?"

"Well I'm not going to go down to the food-stand all alone!" Fez shouted. "Get-up you lazy son of a bitch."

Hyde looked back at Donna and Eric with a confused expression and Donna shrugged back at him. Fez had been overtly emotional since his run in with Laurie at Vanstock a few weeks back and as a result had become extra needy.

"Fine, let's go… But I'm not buying you a pop!" Hyde exclaimed, standing up from the bleachers and walking off with Fez in tow.

Now that Eric and Donna were alone, she had the perfect opportunity to ask her fiancé about something that had been playing on her mind for over a week now.

"Hey Eric," she turned her body towards his and waited for him to look back at her before continuing. "Have you noticed anything… Different about Hyde and Jackie lately?"

Eric scrunched up his nose. "Uh, not really? I mean Hyde's beard has had cookie crumbs in it all day but Jackie's the same as she always is and by that I mean, literally the worst person ever."

Donna shook her head. "No, you dill-hole… Different like the way they're acting towards each-other. I mean Hyde's here watching a freaking high school football game, don't you think that's strange?"

Eric shrugged. "He said he had nothing better to do."

She rolled her eyes, sometimes he could be so oblivious.

"It's not just that, they've been acting weird when we're all hanging out together and the other day, they both left the basement together at the same time. I think something might be going on there."

"Donna what are you getting at? You think Hyde is in some sort of secret relationship with Jackie?" Eric questioned her, a look of disbelief on his face.

Donna paused to think for a moment. "I'm not sure… It's possible."

Eric shook his head quickly. "No, it's not possible and I'll tell you why… Because Hyde would never succumb to the dark side like that."

"Okay if you use one more _Star Wars_ reference I'm sitting over there," Donna pointed in a random empty seat 3 rows down.

"Look maybe they had a fight or something but I'm telling you, there's nothing going on. Jackie and Hyde together would just be creepy and unnatural and wrong, even they know that." Eric tried to convince Donna. "Now can we stop talking about this unholy thing?"

"Sure… Whatever," Donna agreed and as Eric began to talk about the differences between his body and the typical footballer's physique, her eyes trained back to Jackie who was cheering on the team from the sidelines.

Eric may not think anything is going on between Hyde and Jackie, but he didn't know the things that Donna knew. If they were hiding something from the group, then she would do her best to uncover the truth.

* * *

Half-time.

Jackie had just finished up the half-time show with the rest of the cheer-leading squad and was rushing back to the sidelines with the rest of her team.

The routine had gone better than expected, she'd nailed every single move and was feeling pretty good about herself in the moment. Not even Julie could have faulted her.

There was still 10 minutes left of half-time, which allowed her just enough time to go and see Steven and the rest of their friends. She was dying to hear what they thought of her performance.

The rest of the girls were mingling by the bench, gossiping about their classmates but Jackie left the group with a different purpose. Standing in front of the section of bleachers where she'd seen her friends earlier, she began to scan the crowd in attempt to place them again.

She spotted Michael first, he was seated a few rows up from the ground with a group of girls she didn't recognize. He didn't seem to be with the rest of their friends, so she kept looking, straining her eyes and focusing higher up in the bleachers.

As she continued her search, Julie crept up and approached her from behind.

"Jackie, what are you doing?" She questioned suddenly, announcing her presence. "You should be with the rest of the team," she added, placing her hands on her hips.

Jackie turned to look at her briefly before moving her gaze back to the bleachers. "I'm looking for my friends," she told her bluntly.

"We're on duty Jackie. As part of the cheer-leading squad, we are required to spend the entirety of the football games cheering on the team," she responded snootily.

"It's half-time Julie," Jackie pointed out the obvious, still trying to spot Steven or Donna in the crowd of hundreds.

"That doesn't matter," Julie reached out and pulled on Jackie's elbow, forcing her to turn and face her. "As far as I'm concerned, you're still on probation until the end of this game. So, I wouldn't get on my bad side tonight."

Jackie tried hard not to roll her eyes, she was always on Julie's bad side and that was probably never going to change.

"Julie… I nailed that routine, so as far as _I'm _concerned, you can go ahead and try and kick me off the team but I think the other girls would have a lot to say about that. I'm one of the only girls on the team with a gymnastics background and the only person who can land a double back handspring tuck. You need me on this team," she pointed out.

Julie looked back at her as if she'd just told her to drop dead.

"You'll never be captain," she replied in a panicked manner.

"Who said I want to be?"

Having enough of Julie and her paranoid, jealous crap, Jackie turned her attention back to finding her friends in the crowd. Her eyes landed on Michael (who was flirting with a tall brunette), another three times before she finally spotted Steven in the crowd.

He was high up in the bleachers with the rest of their friends, looking bored out of his mind but totally foxy at the same time.

Before she could make a break for it and ditch Julie for her real friends, the blonde cheerleader grabbed hold of her again, pulling hard on her arm and stopping her from moving.

"That's that guy who picked you up from school the other day," Julie's eyes shifted to the stands, landing on Hyde.

"So what?" Jackie wondered with a frown.

Julie smiled cunningly. "So, you're dating a burnout," she put two and two together and giggled as if there was something funny about the aspect of her and Steven dating.

"Firstly, his name is Steven Hyde," Jackie tried her hardest to sound zen, knowing that if Julie found out about her and Steven, she'd do anything in her power to destroy it. "And secondly, we're not dating. We're just friends."

Julie's grin widened. "So, I guess you wouldn't mind if I went out with him then?"

Jackie scoffed. "Why would you want to go out with him? You just called him a burnout."

"Well he is… But he's a foxy burnout."

Jackie crossed her arms over her chest, trying to control her temper. She had to make it seem like she didn't care about the possibility of them dating, if Julie realized that Jackie had feelings for Steven then she'd want him even more and make her life a living hell in the process.

"He's not into cheerleaders," she told her quickly.

Julie laughed. "You obviously don't know a lot about your new friend. He used to go to school here and word is he slept with like half of the cheer-leading squad. Apparently, he's an animal in the sack… I wouldn't mind finding out for myself."

Jackie paused, temporarily stunned by the information just shared. She had already heard that Steven had been with cheer-leaders before her, but to hear that he'd possibly slept with half of the team was a shock to her.

He'd been with countless amounts of women and she was still a virgin. Would she be enough for him or would he eventually get bored and look elsewhere to fulfill his needs? The thought of him sleeping with Julie filled her with dread and caused her to struggle in coming up with a good retort.

Julie smiled at her frozen form. "Half-time's almost over Jackie… You better go back to the team," she suggested, stepping aside to clear the path that would lead her back to the other girls by the benches.

Caught off-guard and slightly deflated, Jackie retreated back to the rest of her team-mates. She couldn't let Julie's threats get in-between her and Steven, because that's all they were… Threats with no basis. Steven wasn't interested in Julie, he liked her, he had real feelings for her and she trusted him.

* * *

After the game.

Hyde stood underneath the bleachers by the edge of the field as the crowd began to disperse, leaving in file towards the car park. He had told the rest of his friends that he was staying later to have a smoke, but really, he was just buying time to go and see Jackie.

Donna, Fez and Forman had left without any questions and he hadn't seen Kelso since he'd ditched them to go talk to the woman who hated his guts.

As he inhaled the last puff of his cigarette, he emerged from underneath the bleachers. Most of the crowd was gone by now, leaving only a handful of high school students left on the field.

Hyde spotted Jackie quickly.

He'd been watching her all night, he hadn't meant to but for some reason his eyes always seemed to find her in a crowd. She looked amazing in her uniform, and even though he'd never admit it out loud he had loved watching her dance.

He hadn't planned on sticking around and knew Jackie would probably be surprised that he'd bothered to stay longer than necessary but watching her all night long had filled him with desire and he wanted to be with her.

Briefly he considered the possibility that he was becoming addicted to her. She wouldn't be the first addiction of his, but she was definitely his favorite. He just couldn't decide whether she was good or bad for his health.

She was currently standing by the end zone, lost in conversation with a tall blonde football player.

He stopped at the edge of the field and watched the two interact. They were standing close to each-other and she was laughing at something he had said.

Hyde tried to ignore the burning feeling of jealousy that flowed through his body, but it became increasingly harder to do as he watched the footballer reach out and touch his chick's arm. Letting his jealous urges get the better of him, he made the move to head towards the two.

But before he could get very far, a tiny blonde cheerleader came out of no-where and stood in front of him, directly cutting off his route to Jackie.

"I was hoping I'd see you again," she said to him, a calculating smile on her face. Her voice was familiar and after a quick glance in her direction, he recognized her to be the persistent cheerleader who had been hitting on him the day he had came to pick Jackie up from school.

Her self-proclaimed arch nemesis and captain of the cheer-leading team. Josie- Julie, whatever the hell her name was.

"Yeah well here I am man, hope you had a good look," he stated as his eyes drifted from hers to over her shoulder where he could still see Jackie talking with the unidentified footballer.

He went to walk around the blonde, but she placed a hand on his chest and pushed back roughly, stopping him in his tracks. Surprised by her vigour he watched as she looked back at the couple by the end zone.

"They're cute together aren't they?" Julie wondered, and Hyde's jaw twitched as he attempted to suppress his anger.

"What are you talking about?" He questioned.

"Jackie and Troye… I mean it's not official or anything but the whole school are convinced they're dating," she informed him.

He knew he shouldn't be listening to this girl, let alone talking to her. He knew she was out to get Jackie and that he couldn't trust anything she said but against his better judgement he remained standing in front of her.

"Why?"

"They're always together… Whispering to each-other in the hallways," her voice lowered as if she was filling him in on some big secret.

Rumors could spread like wild fire in high school, Hyde had learnt that much from his time at Point Place High and he knew that 90% of the time those rumors turned out to be false. But he'd also learnt that rumors always started somewhere, and the idea of Jackie fooling around with some other guy made him feel sick.

"They aren't dating," he stated, turning his attention to Jackie across the field.

"Are you sure?" Julie questioned back, and he could feel her eyes on him.

His rational side was telling him not to say another word, that talking to this chick would only add fuel to the fire but the side of him that breathed jealousy was making it impossible for him to move.

"Yes, I'm sure," he spat back at her, the zen completely gone from his tone.

She took a step back and folded her arms across her chest. "Well you would know better than me," she shrugged as if she couldn't have cared less but there was a calculating look in her eyes that told him otherwise.

He paused while trying to work out her angle. Her words had been chosen carefully to fuel his jealousy and he was falling for it, even though he knew better than to get himself caught up in petty high school drama.

It was obvious that Julie had caught on to the fact that his relationship with Jackie was more than it seemed and that she was using that knowledge against the both of them but he wasn't going to let her get her way.

And as he went to leave, he heard her say, "Well I guess I'll see you at the homecoming dance then!"

Against his better judgement, he turned back to look at the blonde, who was grinning widely as if she knew something he didn't.

"What are you talking about?"

"The dance?" She started with a fake frown. "Jackie's been super hush-hush about her date, I just figured you would be taking her."

Hyde had never even heard Jackie mention a dance, he certainly wasn't her date but if he wasn't then who was? And why had she been hiding this from him?

"Oh, did I just put my foot in my mouth? Opps," Julie continued and the smile on her face proved to Hyde that she'd accomplished exactly what she was hoping she would, starting a fight between him and Jackie.

He stormed off and left the blonde cheerleader by the edge of the field. As he headed towards Jackie and the footballer, who he'd learnt was named Troye, he felt his blood boil. His eyes zeroed in on Troye as he approached the couple.

"Steven," Jackie commented in surprise as he reached them.

Hyde ignored her and continued to size up the football player in front of him. The guy was slightly taller than him and had the looks of a pretty boy that reminded him of Kelso, and if he were anything else like Kelso, Hyde knew he could probably beat the crap out of him if it came to it.

"Hey, you must be Hyde," Troye began, sticking out his hand for Hyde to shake. "I'm Troye, I've heard a lot about you."

He eyed the footballers outstretched hand and paused. Red had taught him to be respectful, but he'd also taught him not to take crap from anyone and Hyde didn't trust this guy, so he made no move to shake his hand.

"Yeah well that's funny considering I've heard nothing about you," he responded coldly, turning his gaze to Jackie who was standing by his side and looking uncomfortable.

"Steven," Jackie whispered to him in a stern tone. She had many ways of pronouncing his name, each way signified a different meaning, this time it had been a warning. She didn't want him starting a fight with her friend, but he'd make no promises tonight.

Troye had now retracted his hand and his eyes had begun to dart back and forth between the couple standing in front of him. It took Hyde all the will power he had not to tell the guy to fuck off. Lucky for him, the footballer could take a hint and began to back away on his own volition.

"I'll let you guys talk… Nice meeting you man," he nodded at Hyde before turning to Jackie. "See you at school Jackie," he added and turned to leave.

"What the hell was that?" Jackie turned on Hyde as soon as Troye was out of ear shot.

"Nothing man… Who the hell was that?" Hyde responded.

"He's just a friend, Steven," she informed him as she folded her arms across her chest. "You don't have to be jealous of him," she added.

Hyde stepped back. "I'm not jealous," he lied and knew she could probably see straight through him.

He hated that he was this jealous about some jock, but she'd been keeping shit from him when he thought they were close enough to share everything with each-other. Clearly, he'd been wrong.

"Good," she said. "If this is going to work, you need to be able to trust me." He scoffed back at her words and she frowned. "What?"

"You want me to trust you?... When were you planning on telling me about your secret date to the homecoming dance?"

Jackie sighed and looked around at the empty field. "Who did you talk to?" she questioned.

"Doesn't matter man."

"Yes, it does because clearly they've lied to you," she took a step closer to him. "Whoever it was, got it wrong. I don't have a secret date… And I hadn't brought up the dance yet because I'm not even sure I'm going to go."

"Why not?" He questioned, if he knew Jackie (and he thought he did), he knew she wouldn't miss a high school dance for the world.

"Everyone has dates already and besides, the only person I'd really want to go with, I can't…" She looked up at him and bit her lip. "The dance is in 2 weeks and we're not ready to go public yet."

He looked around the football field to make sure no one was watching them; Julie and Troye were no-where to be seen but there were still a few other high school students lingering around.

She was the one who wanted to keep this thing between them a secret, he couldn't care less about going public or not, but even if their feelings for each-other were public knowledge, he didn't do high school dances and she needed to know that.

"Jackie… I'm not the kind of guy who goes to dances," he informed her. "If that's what you're looking for than we've got a problem."

She shook her head. "I know that, and I don't care…I knew what I was getting into when we started this and I don't need you to take me to the prom or buy me shiny things. Maybe the old Jackie would have but I've changed."

Her words seemed sincere, but he wasn't sure he could believe what she was saying. People didn't change that drastically so quickly, even if they wanted too.

"So, you're saying you don't care about going to the dance alone?"

"No… No-one wants to go to a dance alone. Which is why I said I'm not sure if I'm going to go yet," she shrugged like she didn't care about the possibility of her not attending a high school event as socially important as the homecoming dance, but he knew her better than that.

There was no way she wasn't going to go to that dance, but Hyde was serious when he said he didn't do dances. He caved on a lot of shit when it came to her, but this wasn't going to be one of those times.

She sighed before he had a chance to respond. "Can we just talk about something else? Like how great I looked during the half-time performance?" She smiled at the change of subject.

Hyde spotted a few of Jackie's fellow cheer-leaders to their right, they were heading towards the parking lot but had all turned to look in their direction as they passed by, reminding him suddenly of her vindictive arch-nemesis.

"I think you outta' be careful man… That Julie chick's really got it in for you," he told her abruptly, catching her by surprise.

"What are you talking about?"

"She was the one who told me about your 'secret date' to the dance… Also told me the whole school thinks you and your pretty-boy friend are dating."

He watched as Jackie rolled her eyes. "Of-course she did," she replied with a huff. "If there is a rumor like that going around, I haven't heard it. She knows we care about each other and she just said those things to hurt me."

Hyde nodded, he knew good and well how full of crap the cheer-leading captain was, even if her words had temporarily gotten to him earlier.

"I know, just saying be careful…"

"I will be… I've dealt with girls like her before, I can do it in my sleep now," she grinned, and he felt himself relax. As much as he hated to put any validity in stupid high school drama, this Julie person meant business and it was nice knowing Jackie could hold her own.

"Right on man… Come on, let's get the hell out of here," he nodded towards the parking lot and made a move.

Jackie fell in step beside him. "Where are we going?" She asked with a confused look on her face.

He didn't blame her surprise, they'd had nothing planned for after the game. He was supposed to be back in the basement by now and she had probably planned on going out to some after-party with her school friends but after all the drama, he thought they could both use some time alone together.

"To eat… You must be hungry after all the prancing around you've been doing."

She laughed. "I'm starving," she said, and they fell into a comfortable silence as they headed towards his car.

Later they'd eat dinner inside the Camino and then drive up to Mt Hump, he'd kiss her underneath the stars and she'd look up at him tenderly. Everything would seem back to normal for the two, but Hyde couldn't ignore the unsettling feeling inside his stomach.

They'd agreed to keep their feelings secret under the impression that it would make things easier, instead it only seemed to be working against them. When the truth came out, he wasn't sure how much longer they'd last or if he could be the kind of boyfriend that Jackie deserved.

In his experience, good things never lasted and with that knowledge, along with the drama circulating their first official fight, he could feel her slipping through his fingers.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! **

**Sorry for the delay in this chapter, I fell slightly behind in schedule but hopefully it was worth the wait. **


	16. Good Times Bad Times

Chapter 16.

1 week later.  
Saturday, September 23rd.  
The Forman's basement.

The sound of Jackie's moan filled Hyde's ears. They'd been hanging out watching _the Price is Right_ and somewhere along the lines (it was all a blur to Hyde) he'd ended up on-top of her.

It had started off pretty innocent, like most of their make-out sessions had been, until she'd wrapped her legs around his waist and he'd effectively lost his mind.

He was kissing her neck now, sucking hard on the spot that he knew drove her crazy with desire and she had her fingers in his hair, holding him in place.

It was the middle of the day and he knew any one of their friends could walk into the basement at any second and catch them messing around and that sooner or later they would have to stop, but he couldn't bring himself to give a fuck in the moment.

And she didn't seem to care much either.

When he pulled away from her to supply his lungs with some much needed air, she whimpered in protest – getting his attention. He looked down at her and she flashed him one of her sexy smiles (the one she seemed to save just for him) before pulling him back down, crashing her lips against his once more.

Her lips were always so unbelievably soft and kissing her was like being high, except he never wanted to come down.

Just as he was relaxing into their kiss, he felt her stir, shifting excitedly from below him. In one quick motion she pulled away from him, lifting her shirt up and over her head, leaving her completely naked from the waist up.

She hardly ever wore bras, just one more way for her to drive him mad with lust but he wasn't complaining this time.

He took his time and stared down at her in awe. They had never gone beyond first base before, hadn't even discussed the option, yet here she was surprising him like this.

She definitely knew how to keep things interesting.

"Are you trying to kill me?" He asked her, as his eyes trailed back up to hers.

Her laughter filled the space between them. "Shut up and kiss me."

He didn't need to be told twice.

Her legs wrapped tighter around him, pushing his body flush against hers. Desperate to get closer, to feel more, Hyde began trailing kisses down her neck.

He continued down her body, peppering her perfectly smooth skin with kisses as he moved lower. When he pulled one of her nipples into his mouth, a breathy moan escaped her lips causing his dick to harden and strain uncomfortably against his denim jeans.

"Oh Steven," she moaned again, her nails scratching at his scalp.

She got him so hot every-time she moaned his name like that, he was convinced she only did it because she knew how crazy it made him.

_"Oh, say can you see-"_

Someone's voice resonated through the basement. Hyde quickly stopped his actions, making eye contact with a panicked looking Jackie as the singing voice got closer and closer.

"What the hell?"

_"Oh, say can you see-"_

"Fez!" Jackie exclaimed, working it out a little faster than him.

She pushed him off of her and he grabbed his shades off the coffee table, placing them over his eyes as she reclaimed her top from the floor and pulled it back over her head, covering herself up just in time before the basement door swung open to reveal their foreign friend.

Hyde crossed his legs, resting his elbow against the arm of the couch and creating as much space as possible between himself and Jackie. He could feel Fez's eyes lingering between the both of them but kept his eyes trained on the TV in front of him.

"Wait a second," Fez commented, gaining the attention of both Hyde and Jackie. "You two look sweaty and guilty… Have you been eating my candy?"

Hyde silently ran a hand over his beard as Jackie responded.

"What candy?"

"I didn't say candy," Fez replied. "And I certainly don't have any candy hidden in the garage," he let out a small nervous chuckle. "I will be in the garage," he added before turning and leaving the basement through the same door he'd walked into only a minute earlier.

Hyde's shoulders relaxed, and he turned his body around to face Jackie. "That was close," he pointed out, noticing the relieved expression on her face.

"Yeah… Fez almost saw my boobs," her face scrunched up in disgust and he couldn't lie, he was glad for the same reasons too.

Somehow, they'd managed to keep their secret for 2 whole weeks, despite the fact that this house was full of people 24/7. They could hardly catch a break, finding time alone was hard but they'd gotten better at sneaking around in the last week.

If it were up to Hyde, he'd come clean with everything but since the whole situation had been Jackie's idea, he was waiting for her to be ready. So far, she hadn't mentioned going public and he wasn't going to push her.

The secret keeping had its fair share of negatives, but he couldn't deny that sneaking around with her was hot. Except for the moments like now, where Fez almost caught an eye full of a half-naked Jackie.

"Guess we got a little carried away," he said as he scratched at an itch on his cheek.

Jackie bit her lip and moved across the couch so that they were right next to each-other again. "Guess so," she agreed, reaching her hand up to scratch the part of his cheek that he was itching, for him.

"We'll just have to be more careful next time," she added with a smile as her long nails scratched at his beard.

Hyde grabbed her hand and pulled it away from his face. "Look man… We keep going the way we're going and this ain't gonna be a secret for much longer," he pointed out as he laced their fingers together.

Jackie nodded, her eyes drifting down to their intertwined fingers. "Would that be a bad thing?" She wondered.

Hyde raised his eyebrow up at her, this was the first time they'd even been close-to discussing the terms of their deal since they'd started messing around those few weeks ago and he was caught off guard.

"No," he told her the truth and watched as she avoided eye contact with him. He wished he knew what was going on in that pretty little head of hers sometimes but reading her was like cracking the Da Vinci Code and he had no hope.

"No?" She repeated, looking slightly shocked by his response. "So, you wouldn't care if everyone you knew, found out about us?"

Hyde shrugged. "I don't give a fuck Jackie. You're the one who wanted to keep this a secret, not me," he reminded her.

"I just want to know that this is real, before we tell everyone," she told him.

Hyde shook his head. She kept saying that to him, and he didn't know what more he could do to prove to her that he was in this for the long haul. He'd never felt like this about any other girl before and he thought he'd been pretty clear about that.

To him, this was as real as it got. He hadn't so much as looked at another girl since they'd started fooling around. There was no one else but her, why couldn't she see that?

If she was waiting for him to make some big declaration of love, she'd be waiting for a long ass time. He wasn't one of those guys, never had been good with words.

"Yeah, sure Jackie… Just let me know when you've worked it out." He pulled his hand away from hers and turned his body back around so that he was facing the tv once again.

"Uh, okay…" She said from beside him, tucking her legs up and under her body.

A silence filled the room as Hyde pretended to watch _the Price is Right. _Another old lady approached the wheel, but this time neither of them made a comment on her inability to play the game properly.

"I've decided I'm going to the dance next weekend," she spoke up a minute later as if their last conversation had never happened.

He frowned, what the hell did the dance have to do with anything?

"By yourself?" He questioned back, turning his head to look at her.

Jackie's eyes darted up to meet his gaze and he noticed a hint of sadness in them.

"Well I guess so," she bit back, folding her arms across her chest and leaning back into the couch. He could tell she was pissed about something, based off the dirty look she was now giving the Forman's TV set but he didn't have the energy to fight with her, so he pretended not to notice.

She continued to ignore him for the next couple of minutes, which was a game they played when she was pissed and he'd done something dumb, but she forgot he was much better at not talking then she was and would always win.

It was barely five minutes into their twisted little game when the basement door swung open and Donna appeared through the other side.

"Oh," she stopped when she noticed the two of them on the couch. "Well, well, well… I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she added with a grin on her face.

Hyde didn't bother responding and kept his eyes trained on the TV instead.

"You aren't interrupting anything Donna," Jackie told her coldly, standing up from the couch. "In fact, I was just leaving," she added.

"What?" Donna frowned.

"Yeah, I have to go to the mall because they're having this big Monday madness sale."

Hyde furrowed his brow and looked up at the tiny brunette who was inching her way closer to the back door. It was a miracle they'd managed to keep their relationship a secret for this long with her terrible lying skills.

"Jackie… It's Saturday," Donna pointed out and Hyde shook his head.

"See total madness!" Jackie exclaimed, before leaving through the back door.

Hyde sighed and returned his gaze back to in-front of him as Donna came over and sat down on the couch next to him. He could fell her gaze burning a hole in the side of his face as she continued to stare at him.

"What?" He snapped at her after a moment of silence.

"Monday madness?" She repeated Jackie's words, giving him a questioning look.

Out of all their friends, Donna was definitely the most switched on when it came to his and Jackie's secret, so he needed to tread carefully.

"What can I say? She's nuts," he stated simply.

He figured she probably knew everything already, the red head wasn't stupid, and she was aware of their feelings prior to this whole mess but instead of coming clean like they should have, the truth remained unspoken like a big fat elephant in the room.

"Yeah right Hyde," she scoffed. "You guys make it so obvious, I don't get how I'm the only one who notices it."

"Notice's what, Donna?"

She rolled her eyes. "That you and Jackie are going out!" She exclaimed, proving Hyde's theory right.

He looked at her with a blank expression as he contemplated his next move. He wasn't sure how to play this out but he was sure of one thing, he was sick of the secrets and the lies.

Jackie had said she was waiting to know that this thing between them was for real before they came clean and told their friends. But Hyde knew how he felt and to him this was as real as it got. If she still wasn't sure about him after all this time, then he couldn't see how this was going to end well.

"We aren't going out," he informed Donna after a moment's pause.

Donna waved a hand in his direction. "Going out, hooking up, it's the same thing."

He disagreed. Hooking up, or messing around was noncommittal, going out was public knowledge and normally included some sort of label.

Either way, he was done with hiding.

"Yeah well… I'm not sure how much longer it's gonna last."

Donna gasped at the sudden information. "Oh my God, I can't believe you just admitted it! I was right! I mean I knew I was right, but it feels so good hearing the words finally... Wait, what are you talking about it's not going to last? Are you guys breaking up already?"

"Can't break up if we're not really together man," he shrugged, trying to pretend like he wouldn't care either way. But in truth, calling it quits with Jackie was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Did you guys have a fight?" She questioned, flashing him a sympathetic look.

He fucking hated that look.

"No… I don't know," he sighed, taking his shades off and pressing his fingers to his eyes. "I think she wants me to take her to some dance next week." He admitted finally.

Donna laughed, but when he glared over at her she quickly covered her mouth with her hand. "Sorry," she mumbled. "It's just… The image of you in a tux, with a corsage in hand, taking Jackie to the homecoming is kind of hilarious."

Hyde rolled his eyes and placed his shades back on. "Yeah well it's not happening man… I told her dances are where I draw the line."

He watched as Donna frowned back at him. "So, you're saying you won't care when she ends up going with someone else?"

He blinked over at her. "She said she's going on her own."

Donna laughed again, and Hyde felt his jaw twitch with annoyance.

Why was he even talking to her about this?

"There's no way a girl like Jackie Burkhart, is just going to go alone to the high school dance… Hyde if you don't take her, someone else will," she pointed out.

Hyde frowned. The idea of some other guy taking Jackie to the dance filled him with dread, but he'd meant it when he said he wasn't the type of guy who went to dances and he wasn't going to cave on this.

"She's not gonna go with anyone else," he told her, but he doubted his words the moment they came out of his mouth.

"Whatever you say… You would know better than me," Donna shrugged back.

Hyde sighed and felt a headache coming on. "I don't get chicks man… They say one thing and then do another."

One-minute Jackie wanted him to be her date to some stupid dance and the next minute she was telling him how they weren't ready to go public with their relationship yet. Well, she couldn't have both and he was getting tired of the games.

"Welcome to the dating world Hyde… It sucks, you're gonna love it."

* * *

Monday, September 25th.  
Point Place High.

The bell rang signaling the end of the day while Jackie was already at her locker collecting her homework for the night. All day she'd been subjected to talk of the homecoming dance, it seemed like everyone but her was excited about the event.

There were banners and decorations going up all around the school, students were talking about their dates and their dresses and Jackie still hadn't made up her mind about attending or not. With less than a week to go, she didn't see how she could possibly attend without a date.

She'd brought the dance up around Steven the other day in the basement hoping he'd take pity and offer to escort her. She'd been looking for a sign that he was ready to commit to her and their relationship but he'd rather her go alone like a loser, than be her date.

He said he didn't care about going public with their relationship, but she was looking for a boyfriend not a fling and if he couldn't even take her to a stupid dance knowing that it would make her happy, then he wasn't the man she thought he was.

With him so adamantly against taking her to the dance, there was no way she could possibly attend. Julie would be thrilled by her absence but the only thing worse than not attending a dance is going to a dance solo and she wouldn't sink that low.

"Need a ride home?" Troye appeared by her side as Jackie closed her locker.

They both had the afternoon off. There was no practice tonight, most of the girls on her cheer-squad were going shopping together to look for dresses while she'd most likely spend her night in a stinky basement, surrounded by doofuses'.

"It's okay, Steven's picking me up," she told him. Whenever Steven had the afternoon off and she didn't have practice, he'd come to pick her up. It being one of the only times they got to spend alone together.

"I can't believe he's not taking you to the dance," Troye scoffed a little too loudly and Jackie shushed him. The halls were filled with students and rumors spread like wild-fire around here.

"He's not exactly the kind of guy who goes to dances…" She mumbled as the two began heading towards the exit.

After the awkward moment that had been shared between Jackie, Troye and Hyde at the football game the other week, Troye had asked her whether or not the two of them were dating. And since he'd shared his biggest secret with her, she felt guilty in lying to him, so she had to come clean.

"Well I guess we're both going to the dance alone," Troye stated with a sigh.

"I don't think I'm going… It's too pathetic to go alone."

Troye gasped. "You can't not go! Julie's been going around with those stupid homecoming queen ballots and if you don't go you can't beat her…"

Jackie had no intention on being crowned the homecoming queen, she hadn't even been at the school for a month yet, Julie could keep her title for now.

"Besides I need someone to hang out with, Justin's going with Cindy Lewis and I need a distraction," he added as they pushed through the doors that lead out into the quad.

Troye's huge crush on the quarter back Justin Roberts had only grown in strength over the past few weeks. Cindy Lewis was his new girlfriend, she was a pretty blonde who ran track and was widely known to be one of the easiest girls in the whole school.

"I'm sorry Troye," Jackie apologized.

The two were stopped at the top of the stairs by the school's entrance, the elevation made it easier for her to scan the parking lot for Steven's El Camino. Since his awkward encounter with Julie the other week - he'd been parking in the back of the lot, not wanting to run into the blonde tyrant again and she didn't blame him.

When she finally spotted the black Camino, Troye gasped loudly in her right ear, his hand shooting out to grab hold of her arm. "I just had the best idea ever," he exclaimed, and she looked at him with concern.

"You and I should go to the dance together!"

"I don't know Troye…" Jackie muttered, her gaze moving from her friend to where Steven was waiting for her, she could just see him leaning against the hood of his car and looking in her direction.

She remembered how he had acted towards Troye when he had caught them talking after the game, he'd seemed jealous then. With that on-top of the fake rumor Julie had told him, Jackie worried that agreeing to go to the dance with Troye could cause some serious problems between them. Especially since Steven had no idea about Troye's secret.

"Jackie come on, I need a beard and you need a hot date. It's perfect!"

Jackie scrunched up her nose. "Firstly, I resent being called a beard," she pointed a finger at him, and he shrugged back in response.

There was a part of her that knew this would be a bad idea, but there was also another part of her (a much larger part), that really wanted to go to the dance. Going with a friend sounded fun and Steven had made it pretty clear that he wasn't going to take her.

This way they would both get to go without looking like dateless losers. She just couldn't wait to see the look on Julie's face when she showed up after all.

"And secondly… We need to coordinate color schemes."

Troye smiled widely and pulled her into a hug. "Yes, this is going to be so much fun!" He exclaimed as he released her. "I'm thinking either midnight blue or lavender, but I'll keep you updated."

Jackie smiled at his enthusiasm. "Sounds perfect," she told him before moving her gaze back to the Camino in the parking lot, Steven had spotted her and was nodding his head towards the car, attempting to hurry her along.

"I've got to go, I'll call you later!" She waved goodbye to her friend before hurrying down the stairs and towards the parking lot. As she got closer to Steven, her nerves grew in size.

She'd tell him about her date to the dance and hope he would believe her when she said they were going only as friends, but she doubted the conversation would end in anything but a fight.

"Hey," she smiled a moment later as she approached him.

Hyde pushed off the hood of the car. "Hey doll," he greeted her, walking around the Camino and opening the door for her.

Jackie bit her lip and entered into the car first, she twisted her fingers nervously in her lap as she waited for him to sit down next to her.

Hyde closed the door behind him as he settled in behind the wheel. Before he started the engine, he turned to her and leaned in to give her a kiss on the lips hello, a new addition to their greetings that only made her feel more nervous.

"Were you waiting long?" She wondered.

"Not really… Who were you talking to?" He asked her as he turned the key in the ignition and the Camino's engine roared to life.

Jackie shifted uncomfortably in her seat as he slung one arm around her shoulders. "Oh um, that was just Troye," she told him.

"That guy again?" Hyde responded in a bitter tone as he reversed the car out of the parking space.

"He's my friend," Jackie pointed out.

"Right," Hyde nodded his head. "Like I'm your friend," he added suddenly, and Jackie sighed.

She wished that she could just tell him the real reason why he didn't need to be jealous of Troye, but he had made her swear not to tell a soul about his secret and she couldn't betray one of her closest friends trusts like that even if it meant causing problems between her and Steven.

Steven would just have to trust that he was the only one she wanted.

"I don't think of you as my friend," she assured him, studying her cuticles as she tried to work up the courage to tell him about her plans for the dance.

"Oh yeah? Then what do you think of me as?" He questioned back.

Jackie paused and thought about his question. The truth was, she'd been thinking about him like he was her boyfriend for the past few weeks, but they hadn't labeled anything yet and he'd never indicated to her that he wanted to be an official couple.

"Uh well… I'm not really sure," she admitted and felt herself blush.

She wished she had more balls when it came to things like this, but he made her nervous and she'd been raised by Pam to believe that men were supposed to be the ones who made the first moves when it came to relationships. It was a hard habit to break out of.

"What do you think of me as?" She asked him.

Hyde turned his head to look at her briefly. She wished he wasn't wearing his sunglasses right now, they always made it hard to read him and she needed to know what he was thinking.

"You're my chick, man," he shrugged as if the revelation was no big deal.

As if she should have known all along how he really felt.

"Oh," she couldn't help the smile spreading across her face. "That's cool," she tried to keep it zen, so as to not scare him off but the expression on her face was betraying her and one glance from him would prove just how un-zen she was feeling right now.

Suddenly, she felt guilty. Here he was being vulnerable and sweet with her when she was sitting on a bomb. She needed to tell him about Troye before it was too late, she just hoped he'd be okay with it and they wouldn't have to fight…

"Steven… I have to tell you something," she began as Hyde turned a corner towards the Forman's street.

She bit her lip as she watched him turn his head in her direction. "What's up baby?"

Baby… He'd never called her that before. God damn him for picking this to be the first time.

"Please don't be mad when I tell you this…" She started as nerves flooded her body and made it hard to concentrate. "Because you know I would have rathered to go with you, but you won't take me and that's okay I guess but I needed to go to the dance, and I couldn't go alone-"

"Jackie, what the hell are you going on about?" He cut her off, but there was a cold quality in his voice which proved to her that he already knew where she was heading.

"Troye and I both didn't have dates to the dance, so we agreed today that we'd go together… But just as friends!"

She felt sick and judging by the look on Steven's face he wasn't feeling great right now either.

"You're fucking kidding, right?" He wondered and turned to look at her as she shook her head. "Jesus Jackie what a fuckin' coincidence."

She frowned. "Steven… What do you mean?"

"I mean, whose idea was it to go together?"

"His…"

"Exactly man. The guys always lurking around you like some love-sick puppy. He's on the football team, he could have taken anyone, but he just so happened not to have a date a week before the dance? That's bullshit."

She could see where he was getting at, but Troye wasn't secretly in love with her.

"It's not like that," she told him, folding her arms across her chest and scooting down the bench seat further away from him.

"Well you can't go with him," he stated simply, and Jackie felt herself getting angry.

How dare he tell her what she can and can't do.

"Are you going to take me?" She spat back at him, knowing what his answer was going to be already.

"No," he scoffed.

"Well then you can't tell me what to do. I'm going with Troye to the dance, as _friends_ and if you can't deal with that then that's too bad!" She was shouting now but she could feel tears threatening to spill down her face.

"Why would I take you to a dance man? You _still_ don't want people knowing we're messing around, and I'm not gonna bend over backwards for someone who's embarrassed of being with me."

"I'm not embarrassed of being with you! That's not why we aren't telling people about us and you know it," she argued with him but as the words came out of her mouth, she felt like a phony.

They had agreed to keep things secret in order to work out their true feelings for one another, but Jackie had known how she felt about him for a while now… So why was she still pretending?

"Whatever Jackie," Hyde responded coldly as he pulled the Camino up to the Forman's house. "Go to the dance with him, I don't care anymore," he said and got out of the car without giving her another glance.

She felt a tear fall down her cheek as she watched him walk away.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! **

**Little bit of smut in this chapter for you zennies that I hope you enjoyed. (I think i'm terrible at writing smut so don't expect too much throughout the fic but I had to throw a little bit in here and there!)**

**What do you think will go down at the homecoming dance? Will Jackie go with Troye? Will Hyde and Jackie make up? Will Donna spill the beans to the rest of the gang? Guess you'll have to wait till next week to find out ;)**

**Don't forget to leave a review and tell me your favorite parts of the chapter/what you're hoping to see in the next chapter! **


	17. Homecoming

Chapter 17.

7:00pm.  
Saturday, September 30th.  
The Forman's living room.

"Oh Jackie, you look beautiful!" Hyde could hear Mrs. Forman cooing from behind him. "Red, doesn't she look beautiful?" she questioned as the shutter went off on her camera for the hundredth time that night.

Hyde was sitting on the couch in the living room next to Eric, pretending to watch the TV in front of him when he was really eavesdropping on the conversation happening behind him.

Jackie was standing on the stairs, dolled up in a dark blue spaghetti-strap form-fitting dress with a very risqué neckline (if you asked him), the fabric dipped low down her chest and exposed her cleavage.

It was undeniable that she looked incredible, and he was sure she had chosen that dress just to drive him mad.

When she strolled out of her room earlier, he'd made a comment to Red about whether he was gonna let her go out looking like that, but the old man was getting soft and had only ordered her to bring a jacket in case she got cold.

Cold? Hyde couldn't see how she'd get cold with the burn of a million eyes staring at her chest all night.

The door-bell rang, snapping Hyde back to reality and signalling the arrival of his least favorite person.

"That's Troye!" Jackie called, and he heard her heels clacking on the carpeted stairs as she trotted down towards the front door.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he heard the door opening. He kept his eyes trained on the TV in front of him, pretending not to care about what was going on behind his back when really he was itching to look.

He shouldn't be in this room right now, he should be downstairs in the basement where he wouldn't have to witness some other guy taking his girl on a date, but he was petty and stubborn and just couldn't help himself.

He didn't even know if she was still his girl, they hadn't spoken to each-other in days, not since their fight. She'd been ignoring him every chance she got, and he refused to be the one to apologize first.

She'd started this whole thing, he was just a causality in her games.

"Hyde, look," Eric whispered to him from his right side, he was openly staring at the conversation happening by the door and nudging Hyde's arm with his elbow. "Red's turning all red, looks like steams about to come out his ears… You gotta look."

Hyde sighed and turned. Jackie and Troye were standing together by the door, his suit matched her blue dress and he'd brought her a corsage that was now positioned on her wrist, they looked like the perfect couple and Hyde felt his stomach drop.

Red and Mrs. Forman were standing in front of them, Mrs. Forman was happily snapping photos of the couple while Red was staring at Troye like he'd come to rob the joint.

"Maybe we should get a family photo before you leave?" Mrs. Forman suddenly announced, looking over at Hyde and Eric on the couch. "Steven did you want to come and get a photo with Jackie?" she asked him and they locked eyes.

Hyde froze awkwardly as the room waited for a response from him.

Taking a photo with her all dressed up to go to the dance with someone else, was the last thing he wanted to do right now but for whatever reason, no words were coming out of his mouth.

Lucky for him, Jackie wasn't finding it as hard to talk as he was. "It's okay Mrs. Forman, I think we've got enough photos," she said, and he looked over at her to notice she was staring right back at him.

His breath caught in his throat, making it hard for him to swallow or breathe as the realization hit him. This was the first time in days that they had made any kind of eye contact.

She really did look beautiful. She'd be the best-looking chick in that streamer filled gym hands-down and he could have been the lucky guy, who had gotten to take her.

Could have, but instead she was going with Troye the pretty-boy-football-star and it was all his fault.

His insecurities had ruined that possibility for him and potentially ruined their relationship all together.

"We should get going if we want to be there on time…" Troye commented as he looked down at the expensive gold watch on his wrist.

When Jackie looked away from Hyde and moved towards her date, he turned back to the TV and tried hard to drain out the goodbyes he could hear from behind him.

"Have fun!" Mrs. Forman shouted as the front door closed shut. "Well he seemed like a nice boy," she added while her and Red walked over to Hyde and Eric on the couch.

"He seemed like an idiot," Red grumbled in response.

"Oh don't be silly Red, he was nothing but polite-"

Hyde couldn't take it anymore. He stood up from the couch abruptly, startling Mrs. Forman and cutting her off mid-sentence. Without a word he left the living room and entered into the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge.

His mind was running 100 miles per hour and he needed something to take the edge off. As he reached for a beer, he heard the door to the kitchen open and close behind him.

Closing the fridge, he turned to notice Mrs. Forman staring at him with a concerned expression on her face.

He cracked the beer open and took a sip.

"I was thirsty…" He cleared his throat and told her a moment later.

Mrs. Forman sighed and walked around him to the cupboards. He watched as she grabbed herself a clean glass and returned to where he was standing in the middle of the kitchen. She took the can of beer from him and poured half of it into her glass.

Handing him back the can, she clinked her glass to his and then took a sip.

"You're a terrible liar, Steven," she finally said to him and he frowned. He shouldn't be surprised, she could read him like a book at this stage but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"I know you're worried about losing Jackie."

Hyde shifted his gaze to the door that separated them from Red and Eric before landing back on the older woman in front of him.

"Mrs. Forman, I don't care about-"

She shushed him, and he stopped talking. "You have nothing to be worried about… She doesn't like that boy, she likes you. I can sense these things."

He wished he was as confident in that statement as she was but after their fight earlier that week, he didn't know what he believed anymore.

"It doesn't matter… She chose him," he pointed out, taking another swig of his beer but no matter how much he drank, he knew it wouldn't be enough to make him forget her.

Drowning his sorrows wouldn't work this time around.

"It's never too late for a grand romantic gesture," Mrs. Forman winked at him before turning and leaving him in the kitchen alone.

* * *

7:45pm.  
Point Place high school gym.  
The Homecoming Dance.

Jackie and Troye had arrived at the school gym 10 minutes ago. Their entrance had caused a stir in the crowd and all eyes had been on the two of them as they crossed the threshold.

She didn't blame them, she looked damn good in her dress and her and Troye did make a good-looking couple, despite the fact that he was more interested in men than women.

Normally there was nothing better than the feeling of people staring at you in awe of your beauty but tonight the attention had no effect on her. She felt nothing.

She had thought that this was what she wanted but now that she was at the dance, with Troye by her side, she realized that it hadn't been worth the drama.

The gym was cold and dirty, the decorations were limited and tacky and the band looked about 100 years old, it was nothing like the school dances had been at her private school in New-York, that was for sure.

"At least pretend you're happy to be here," Troye commented for beside her, giving her a nudge as he flashed his famous smile to the masses and began leading her towards the drinks table.

As they walked through the crowd, she tried her hardest to emulate that same kind of happiness but was finding it hard.

She missed Steven. They hadn't spoken in days and he'd barely even looked at her tonight…

Maybe coming here with Troye was a huge mistake, she thought to herself gloomily.

"Look out, Julie in coming…" Troye warned her in a whisper and nodded his head in the direction of the head cheerleader.

Julie was strolling towards them with her date in tow. She had brought an older man who worked for her dad's company, Jackie only knew so much because she had been bragging about him to anyone who would listen, all week long.

And credit where credit was due, he was cute, but Julie seemed less than interested in him now as she approached them.

"Well don't you two make the cutest couple," she smiled widely at the both Jackie and Troye, her eyes lingering a second too long, on the arm Jackie had looped through Troyes.

"The whole school's talking about you two," she added with a fake smile. She was pretending to be friendly, but Jackie could tell she hated the fact that it was her and Troye who were the main focus of attention at the dance, instead of her and her own (much older) date.

"I'm sure they'll get bored soon and start gossiping about Cindy Lewis's questionable fashion taste," Jackie pointed out, her eyes drifting to where Cindy stood by the drinks table.

That bright green frilly dress wasn't one she would forget any time soon and she honestly believed it should be burnt in sacrifice to the style God's as soon as possible.

"What a disaster," Julie agreed quickly, sneering over at Cindy while her date nodded wordlessly from his position beside her. "I've got to say Jackie, we were worried you wouldn't show."

Jackie nodded with a fake smile on her face. "Well to be honest I only came to see your outfit… So, I'd know what not to wear."

Troye and Julie's date froze as the two girls stared each-other down.

She knew it was a risky move but if Julie wanted to play this game, then Jackie had no other choice but to retaliate. Bitchy comments were her bread and butter, and Julie had to learn that Jackie wasn't just going to roll over and take it, like all the other girls at this school.

After a moments pause, Julie began to laugh and Jackie joined in. "You're so funny," she told her, but the look in her eye proved that she had found Jackie's little comment less than amusing. "Don't forget to vote for me as your homecoming queen!" She pointed a serious finger at both Jackie and Troye before turning and leaving with her date.

Troye let out an audible sigh. "You almost gave me a heart attack, I thought I was going to be in the middle of a cat fight for a second… And I spent way too much time on my hair just to see it ruined by two 90-pound cheerleaders."

"Sorry, I just wasn't in the mood to deal with her," she admitted as they crossed to the drinks table.

Justin Roberts was currently spiking the punch bowl to her left, so she went for the water cooler instead.

"Is this about Hyde?" Troye questioned her quietly as he filled up his own cup.

Jackie bit her lip and looked around them, making sure that no-one was listening in to their conversation before she responded.

"He's really mad at me, we haven't spoken in days… He thinks this is a real date," she whispered, using her free hand to grab hold of his wrist and pull him to a quieter, less crowded corner of the gym.

"Did you tell him we're just going as friends?" Troye asked with a confused look on his face.

"He didn't believe me… He thinks you're in-love with me or something," it might have been an embellishment, but she'd always been a little melodramatic.

Troye laughed out loud and Jackie frowned, folding her arms across her chest. Sure, he wasn't interested in women, but he didn't need to be so rude about it?

"I'm sorry but come on… I mean, you're gorgeous and all but even you couldn't turn me straight," he whispered, his eyes nervously darting around the room at their fellow classmates.

"But he doesn't know that, and the whole things caused this huge fight… I think he's done with me," she breathed out, her voice shaky as she slowly came to terms with the fact that she could have ruined the best thing she'd ever had.

Troye looked at her with sympathetic eyes as he reached out to grab hold of her hand in his. "You want to tell him," he stated suddenly.

Jackie bit her lip. "No… Well yes but I couldn't do that to you," she told him, and it was the truth, no matter how badly she wanted to tell Steven the real reason why there was no need to be jealous over Troye, she'd never break her friends trust like that.

"Do you trust him?" Troye wondered.

Jackie didn't even need to think about the question, she knew the answer in her heart straight away.

"Yes."

"Then so do I."

* * *

9:30pm.  
The Forman's basement.

Hyde sat on his usual chair in the basement, Kelso was seated in the lawn chair across from him, while Fez, Eric and Donna occupied the couch. They had just finished up a circle about an hour ago and had recently turned on the TV, although no one was really watching it.

It seemed like any other night, except for one huge difference.

Jackie's absence from the basement was felt and he couldn't stop thinking about what an idiot he'd been all week. She was probably slow dancing with that other guy right now, probably forgetting all about him and he had no-one to blame but himself.

Mrs. Forman's earlier words had been playing through his head all night. She had said that it wasn't too late for a grand romantic gesture and maybe she was on to something there.

A Forman-y act could be the answer to all of his problems, after all it had worked on numerous occasions whenever Forman fucked up with Donna and needed to earn her forgiveness.

If only Hyde weren't so stubborn.

There was a large part of him that was telling him to get off his ass and do something before it was too late, but his pride had been wounded when Jackie chose Troye over him and that wasn't an easy thing to get over.

"Did you guys see Jackie's date to the dance?" Eric's voice pulled Hyde out of his thoughts and back to reality. "Hubba Hubba," he added.

"Uh… Yeah we saw them walking to his car earlier," Donna informed Eric, eyeing him strangely. She was probably a little concerned about her fiancé's over-enthusiastic remarks about the football player.

"Oh yes, he has a gorgeous face… Almost as good looking as Kelso," Fez joined in and Hyde thought he'd rather burst into flames right now then engage in a conversation about how hot Jackie's date is.

Kelso scoffed. "He wishes, see this perfect symmetry-" he waved a hand in front of his own face. "It'll be a cold day in hell when someone comes along better looking than me."

"Don't be so jealous," Fez responded. "I said he was almost as good looking as you… You know you've got it all baby."

Kelso smiled. "Thanks little buddy… I guess Jackie wanted to take someone to the dance who was good looking but not as good looking as her, which would explain why she didn't ask me to be her date."

Hyde rolled his eyes. Even though Kelso had been hung up on that Brooke chick lately, inappropriate comments about Jackie still regularly came out of his mouth and made Hyde want to frog him hard over both arms.

"That makes sense," Fez agreed, bobbing his head up and down. "It must also be why Jackie said no when I asked to take her…"

"Uh, yeah… Sure man." Kelso replied, flashing Hyde a funny look from across the room.

"Well, either way her date is a very lucky man," Fez said.

Kelso nodded. "Oh yeah, she looked hot-"

"Are you serious?!" Donna groaned loudly, startling Hyde as well as the other three guys in the room.

He turned to look at her and noticed she was staring back at him, a wild-angry look in her eye.

"You're really just going to sit there all night and pretend like you don't care?" She continued to scold him in front of the rest of their friends, who were now looking back and forth from the two of them with confused looks on their faces as they tried to work out what the hell was going on.

Hyde wasn't really surprised she had blown up the way she just did. He had confirmed her suspicions about Jackie and him almost a week ago now, it was impressive that she even lasted this long.

"You off your meds Big D?" He questioned her, flashing her a pointed look that let her know, he wasn't going to discuss this right now in front of the rest of their group.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He added lazily.

Donna paused and looked at him with a disappointed expression, which was almost worse than the yelling had been.

"Fine, keep pretending… But I've sat back and watched all week without saying anything and I can't do it anymore. You need to get over yourself and do something before it's too late."

Hyde looked over at Eric, Fez and Kelso who were all staring with confused looks on their faces. They had no clue what was going on but sooner or later they'd work it out, he just didn't care anymore.

"And what if I don't?" He questioned Donna.

"Then you're going to lose her," she said a second later in a matter-of-fact tone.

He froze and took in her words. Multiple seconds went past where no one in the room dared to speak. He was staring back at Donna, but his mind was elsewhere.

'It's not too late for a grand romantic gesture.'

'you need to do something before it's too late.'

'you're going to lose her.'

Was his pride and ego really worth losing Jackie over?

"Can someone please explain what's happening here?" Eric was the first to break the silence.

"Damn it," Hyde cursed as he stood from his chair, his mind made up.

"Where's he going?" Kelso questioned as Hyde wordlessly walked towards the back door, picking his car keys up off the stereo on the way out.

"I knew you were a big softy Hyde!" Donna called out to him as he opened the door.

"Get bent!" He yelled back as he exited the basement and closed the door behind him.

* * *

10:00pm.  
Point Place high school gym.  
The Homecoming Dance.

What the hell am I doing here? Hyde thought when he stepped through the double doors that lead into the gym where the Point Place High's homecoming dance was being held.

When he was a student here, he'd managed to successfully avoid attending any of these dumb dances, it wasn't until he'd graduated and was therefore done with this school for good, that he found himself finally attending one of them. The irony wasn't lost on him.

Now that he was finally here and could see for himself what all the hype was about, he realized that he hadn't missed much all this time. The few decorations there were, were lame and corny and the band sucked.

Despite those things, the gym was crowded with over-dressed high-school kids, making him very aware of his current state of dress.

He'd forgotten to change and had left the Forman's in his plaid button up, dirty jeans and boots, in comparison to all the other men here he looked as poor as he felt. Jackie would probably get mad at him for not putting any effort into his appearance but at least he'd shown up.

Hopefully she'd be happy to see him and not embarrassed by him, but he never knew when it came to her.

As he walked further into the gym, searching for Jackie, he began to notice his presence hadn't gone unnoticed like he had hoped. People were turning to look at him as if they knew who he was, guys were giving him dirty looks while the chicks gazed at him flirtatiously and whispers began to fill the large room.

They must be wondering what the hell he was doing here, and he didn't blame them.

They could keep staring and whispering if they wanted, he wasn't going to let it get to him tonight.

He stopped in the middle of the gym, his eyes trailing over to the crowd in front of the stage where the band was performing. 'Rocket-man' by Elton John was playing, Hyde wasn't a fan of the guy but even he had to admit the band wasn't doing him any justice, still if he knew Jackie like he thought he did, he knew she'd be dancing to that song somewhere in the crowd.

As he scanned the space in front of him, a figure crept up to his side unannounced.

"Look who it is," a female voice interrupted his search and he looked to his left to spot the head cheerleader, Julie, all dolled up in a floral dress and a plastic crown placed on the top of her head.

He groaned. "Where do you keep coming from man? It's like you're fucking following me," he pointed out, frowning down at her. It was like this chick had sensors that told her whenever he was in the vicinity, so she could make his life a living hell.

Whether she was actually interested in him for more than just causing trouble, was a mystery to him but either way he was sick of her and wasn't in the mood tonight.

"Don't flatter yourself. I could argue that you're the one following me," she placed her hands on her hips, eyeing him pointedly.

"You've got problems man," he turned his head away from her and back to the crowd of dancing teenagers, hoping to find Jackie sooner rather than later so that he could get the hell out of here.

"Maybe, but so do you," Julie kept talking. "I know why you're here… I thought it was very interesting when Jackie showed up to the dance with Troye instead of you. They've been very close all night, looks like you're too late."

Hyde turned his gaze back to her and could see the evil look in her eye that proved she'd say anything to rile him up, but he wasn't going to play her games tonight.

"You must be really jealous of her… To waste this much time trying to fuck up someone's life cause your threatened by them, that's pretty pathetic," he told her.

"You need help," he added before turning to leave.

He got a few steps forward before her voice rang out through the area around them, loud and clear.

"You're the pathetic one!" She shouted, and he turned back to look at her.

People around them were staring again but Julie didn't seem to care or even notice, her eyes were trained on his, wild and angry.

"She's never going to choose you, no matter how hard you try. You're a dirty burnout with no future and she's a popular cheerleader. You don't belong here, and everyone knows it!" she kept yelling and the whispers around them picked up again.

He stepped closer to her and noticed a look of fear spread across her face.

"Fuck off Julie," he spat back at her before turning and walking off into the crowd, leaving her behind for good.

There were a million things he would have liked to say to her, but he had more important things to do then fight with some stupid cheerleader. He'd already given her more time then she deserved, and he'd be happy if he never saw her face again.

But she had already gotten what she wanted, her yelling had caused a scene and the whispers were following him as he walked further into the make-shift dance floor. He got into the thick of the crowd as 'Rocket-man' was coming to an end and had to resort to elbowing his way through the thick mass of people.

His eyes were darting in every direction and as he reached the center of the dance floor. A few seconds later and he finally spotted Jackie.

She was a few feet away from him, dancing and smiling happily with her date, oblivious to the stares and whispers that still followed him.

He stopped to watch her. She looked beautiful and happy as she danced with Troye. So happy that he worried his appearance would only ruin her night.

Maybe she wouldn't be as happy as he thought, to see him here?

While he took his time to contemplate his next move, Troye had spotted him from a few feet away. Making his decision for him.

The footballer stared back at him, and to Hyde's surprised, flashed him a smile before turning towards Jackie. He watched as the other guy whispered into Jackie's ear and she turned around to spot him in the crowd.

His breath caught in his throat as a smile spread across her face.

His body relaxed, and he began moving towards her as the band began transitioning into another song, causing a brief silence to spread across the gym.

His eyes were trained on hers, so oblivious to anything else happening around him, he didn't notice the attention their reunion had attracted throughout the crowd surrounding them.

"Hey," he breathed out as he finally reached her.

"Hi," she smiled brightly back at him. "I can't believe you came," she added.

Hyde nodded, he couldn't believe it himself, yet here he was.

"Shoulda' came with you to begin with," he admitted quietly, the hairs standing up on the back of his neck as he became aware of all the eyes on him.

He turned to look at Troye, who was watching them with a small smile on his face.

"You mind if I cut in?" He asked him.

Troye shook his head quickly. "She's all yours man," he told him before turning around and disappearing into the crowd.

'All of my love' by Led Zeppelin started playing and he stepped closer to Jackie, holding his hand out for her to take.

She wrapped her arms around his neck instead and pulled him in closer to her. He relaxed into the embrace and wrapped his arms around her waist, swaying to the music slowly.

"Steven, I'm so sorry," she whispered to him after a moment of silence and they locked eyes. "I was acting like a spoiled brat."

Hyde shook his head. "We both acted like idiots… I should have trusted you when you said you and Troye were just friends."

"I shouldn't have come with him to begin with, I knew you'd be jealous, but I did it anyway because I was mad you wouldn't take me, and I didn't want to go alone. This was all my fault." Jackie responded quickly. "Please say you forgive me."

"Wouldn't be here if I didn't doll… We both fucked up this week and I'm done pretending I don't give a shit," he said to her and the two stopped dancing, he took a deep breath in as he prepared to say the words that were about to come out his mouth.

"What are you saying?" She wondered, her hands slipping to his shoulders as she looked up at him with those beautiful mis-matched eyes of hers.

"Jackie, I'm saying that I don't want to hide this anymore. I know how I feel about you and I don't care about what anyone else thinks... I wanna be with you. For real this time."

Hyde wasn't normally the kind of guy who got nervous over chicks, but right now the nerves were flowing through his body, his heart pounded hard against his chest - quick and loud.

So loud that his ears were beginning to ring, blocking out the sound of the band and others around them.

Everything else faded away until all there was, was her.

She paused to take in his words and he froze, worried she suddenly didn't feel the same. But after a moment of silence, which felt like the longest few seconds of his life, she smiled.

"Steven, I want to be with you too," she told him, before taking a step towards him and closing the gap between the two. She leaned up and he met her half way, his lips crashing down onto hers in a passionate embrace.

He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, pulling her body into his own in one quick motion, causing her to giggle into their kiss happily.

This girl could irritate him like no other could, she drove him mad every other day and caused him to do crazy things he'd never thought he'd do before.

But she also looked like an angel, kissed like a freaking goddess and drove him crazy with desire.

Since she came into his life a few months ago, he'd been convinced that she would be the end of him and maybe he was right, but at least he'd go down happier then he'd ever been before.

As Jackie pulled away from him, he became aware of their surroundings again.

Turning his head to look around them, he noticed everyone was still openly staring at them.

They had probably been watching them during their whole kiss and by now the news of the cheerleader hooking up with Point Place's resident bad-boy would be traveling through the gym.

His and Jackie's relationship was officially public, and he couldn't care less.

"They're all staring," Jackie stated, pointing out the obvious. He looked back at her and noticed the red in her cheeks.

"yeah, that's kinda my fault… I've had eyes following me since I showed up in this joint," he let her know.

"No, they're looking at me. I came here with the school's football star and now I'm kissing the towns resident bad-boy… They probably think I'm a huge skank," she blushed, her gaze traveling to the floor.

"Hey, you're not a skank man… Look, let's just get out of here if you want." He'd been dealing with the looks and whispers since he'd arrived at the dance and even though he couldn't care less what they thought or said about him, he knew it would be a different story for Jackie.

"No, I don't want to run away. Let them stare, at-least this way everyone will know who I'm really with…" she looked back up at him and flashed him a small smile.

He grinned back at her, glad she was living up to her words and didn't care about being seen with him.

"Let's give em' something to stare at then," he leaned down and meet her lips with his once again, totally unfazed by the gasps of shock and whispers that followed.

* * *

11:45pm.  
The Forman's kitchen.

They'd lasted an hour at the dance together before the staring got old and they'd left to be alone. It was in the car on the way home that Jackie had told Hyde the truth about Troye and sworn him to secrecy. He hadn't cared about the revelation, but it felt good to know that her friendship with the footballer would no longer cause problems between her and her man.

Since he'd shown up at the dance earlier that night, she'd felt like she was on cloud nine. She knew the high would have to wear off soon, but she was savoring every minute she got until they had to deal with the real world again.

The scene they caused at the dance would surely follow her to school on Monday morning, people would be talking about it for weeks, but she didn't care.

Things with her and Steven were better than ever, and she was glad things were all out in the open. Anyway, it was only a matter of time before another rumor or scandal happened and everyone at school would move on.

Now they were stumbling into the kitchen, heading towards the stairs that lead to the basement. Too wrapped up in each-other to notice the older woman standing by the living room door, mouth gaping open in shock.

Her back was pushed up against the kitchen counter top, her hands were roaming up his chest and over his shoulders, while his were groping at her waist, pulling her closer.

She was smiling happily into their kiss when the noise of someone clearing their throat loudly, echoed through the kitchen.

Hyde pulled away from her quickly and they both turned their head towards the noise.

Jackie gasped quietly as she spotted Mrs. Forman staring at them from across the room, arms folded across her chest with a pointed look on her face.

"What is going on in my kitchen?" Mrs. Forman questioned, breaking the awkward silence.

Jackie shared a quick panicked look with Hyde. She nudged him in the stomach with her hand, as Mrs. Forman waited for a response.

He cleared his throat and scratched nervously at his beard before he began talking.

"Uh well… Jackie and I are kinda' seeing each other now," he told the older woman and Jackie bit her lip as she waited for her response.

It took a moment, but finally Mrs. Forman's emotionless expression changed to that of pure joy. She smiled and laughed, clapping her hands together excitedly as she ran across the kitchen towards them.

"Oh, that is just the greatest news!" She told them before wrapping her arms around the both of them, pulling them into a tight hug

"I have to go and tell Red, he'll be so thrilled!" Mrs. Forman continued after releasing the couple from her embrace. Jackie doubted Mr. Forman would be as thrilled as Mrs. Forman believed but she smiled and nodded anyway.

Before the small woman left the room, she turned back to face the teenagers and pointed a finger at the both of them. "No funny business in the kitchen, we eat here."

Hyde and Jackie both nodded. "Yes Mrs. Forman," they said in unison and watched as she left the room with a skip in her step.

Jackie laughed and turned back to Hyde. "Guess we won't have to worry about telling everyone tomorrow then."

"Yeah," Hyde nodded his head in agreement. "Mrs. Forman's probably waking up Red and Forman right now."

Then Eric would tell Donna, Donna would tell Kelso and Kelso would tell Fez, and they'd all probably be annoyed to have been kept in the dark for so long, but they'd deal with the aftermath tomorrow.

In the meantime, the night was still young, and she desperately wanted to get back to their earlier activity before Mrs. Forman had interrupted them.

"Basement?" She questioned simply, smiling up at him.

Hyde grinned. "You read my mind doll," he grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her through the kitchen, towards the basement stairs.

Tomorrow they'd have a lot of explaining to do, but they would deal with that when they got to it. Tonight, was about them, making up for the past week of fighting and finally enjoying each-others company without the pressure of keeping secrets and hiding feelings.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**

**This chapter took me extra long to edit because I wanted it to be perfect, so I'm sorry about the long wait! **

**Next chapter the basement gang find out about Jackie and Hyde, and Red lays down some new rules...**


	18. Red's Rules

Chapter 18.

9:00am  
Sunday, October 1st.  
The Forman's Kitchen.

Jackie had what she considered to be the best dream ever last night, she was Sandy and Steven was Danny and they were singing 'You're the One That I Want' to each-other just like in the movie Grease. Unfortunately, her dream was cut short by an angry Red Forman, who had woken Jackie up by banging loudly at her door before ordering her to come down stairs.

She was now sitting on one of the dining room chairs, situated in the middle of the kitchen with Steven seated directly beside her. Their friends, Eric, Donna, Fez and Kelso were watching the scene play out, safely from the opposite side of the sliding doors.

Red and Kitty Forman stood sternly in front of both Jackie and Hyde. Red had his arms crossed over his chest with a permanent frown plastered across his face, while Kitty stood next to him trying to mask her smile with a concerned expression but failing at it pretty miserably.

Jackie already knew what this was about and had prepared herself for the up and coming lecture as she made the walk from her bedroom down to the kitchen. Mrs. Forman had obviously told Mr. Forman about what she'd seen in the kitchen last night, and now her and Steven were going to pay the consequences Red Forman style.

"Kitty's informed me that the two of you are…" Red began but looked like he was already struggling for the right words.

She couldn't imagine he would have given these kinds of talks before and judging by the look on his face, it was clear that he'd rather be anywhere else but in this kitchen right now.

"going steady," Kitty filled in for him, a burst of excitement crossing her face as she did.

Jackie frowned, not liking the phrase. "Dating," she corrected from her seated spot in front of the older couple.

"Going out," Hyde added from beside her with a grin. "Hooking up… pick one man," he continued on and Jackie had to turn her face away to hide the laugh threatening to escape her lips.

Red looked less than impressed as he stared back at Hyde.

"Keep going funny boy and you'll be laughing all the way to the hospital with my boot up your ass," Red warned. "Is that what you want?" He questioned a second later.

"… No sir," Hyde responded.

"Alright… Now whatever it is you two are doing, I don't care. But so long as the both of you are living under my roof, you'll be living by my rules and there's gonna be some new ones from now on." Red informed the two, looking back and forth from both kids as if waiting for some big reaction.

Jackie had anticipated changes, so she was less than shocked by the older man's plans and by the looks of it, Steven didn't seem to care much either.

"Red, I'm sure we can trust the kids to do the right thing…" Kitty suddenly expressed, getting the attention of the room.

Red looked at her as if she were speaking Chinese. "And I was sure I'd never see my son having sex on our kitchen table with the neighbor girl but I was wrong about that too."

Jackie gasped at the knowledge of Eric and Donna being caught doing it on the kitchen table, it was news to her but even she couldn't deny the image would have been scaring for all parties.

Kitty looked horrified by the mere mention of the events, while Steven chuckled quietly from next to her. Jackie watched as Red turned his glare towards Hyde, the look got him to shut up without even having to threaten a foot up the ass.

"You gotta admit Red… It's kinda funny," Hyde pointed out and Jackie let a small giggle out before quickly covering her mouth to muffle the sound.

Red turned his cold look onto her, his expression making it clear he didn't in-fact find anything about the situation funny.

"Red, just tell them what the new rules are so we can all get out of here," Kitty sighed and instructed her husband.

"Fine… Now firstly and most importantly, there's no hanky panky in my house," Red started off strong.

Jackie turned her nose up at the term 'hanky panky' being used, but allowed Red to continue without interrupting her this time.

"Jackie's not allowed in the basement after midnight, no exceptions," Red continued the countdown to his unnecessary rules.

Jackie's mouth dropped open in shock, feeling slightly victimised by the older mans second rule. It was normal for the group of friends to be hanging out in the basement past midnight, especially during the weekends. If she wasn't allowed in the basement after midnight she would be missing out on so much and to her the rule was completely unfair, but she could tell Red wasn't opening these rules to a debate or even a discussion, so there was nothing she could do about it now.

She closed her mouth and Red continued.

"Stevens not allowed upstairs at all, unless its to use the bathroom," he said.

Jackie looked over at Steven, expecting him to argue but he barely reacted. She supposed he was hardly ever upstairs anyway, so the rule held no real effect towards him or the way he lived his life here at the Forman's.

"and if you get her pregnant, so help me God-"

"Red!" Kitty cut him off quickly, flashing him a stern look.

Jackie felt her cheeks turn red at the implications behind Red's latest statement. Steven hardly moved, his shades covering his true emotions perfectly.

"Don't have to worry about that Red," Hyde responded coolly, and Jackie suddenly wished she could be swallowed up into some other dimension where the embarrassment of discussing her non-exist sex life couldn't follow her.

"Is that all?" Kitty prodded Red on impatiently.

"No… Curfew's need to be put in place," Red responded quickly, putting the cherry on the cake.

Jackie and Hyde both groaned. Since she'd moved in, she'd been able to stay out as late as she liked, it hadn't mattered too much anyway, seeing as all her friends tended to hang out inside their basement. But now that she had started school and her and Steven had started dating, she was finally enjoying the advantages of having no curfew, only to have it taken away…

Well, it was good while it lasted.

"Red man, I'm 19, you can't give me a curfew," Hyde pointed out quickly.

Red paused for a moment before responding. "Maybe I can't give you a curfew, but I can still give Jackie one," he turned his attention to a sullen looking Jackie. "School nights you're home by 11, weekends home by 1."

Jackie sighed but nodded, it could have been a lot worse and she'd take what she could get.

"Well," Kitty clapped her hands together and smiled down at both of the kids. "That's that. Now I know these rules might seem a little unfair, but we only have your best interests at heart and I'd just like to say, that I think the two of you make an adorable couple and I'm happy you're happy… God knows you both needed something good to happen in your poor lives," she rambled on, a sad expression crossed her face and for a second it looked as if she were about to cry.

"Kitty," Red mumbled, standing uncomfortably next to his wife.

"Oh, I'm sorry but it's true!" Kitty exclaimed, reaching into the pocket of her apron to pull out some tissues.

"Uh… can we go now?" Hyde wondered as Mrs. Forman began blowing her nose loudly into the tissue.

"Alright, get out of here," Red waved his hand at the both of them.

With the Red's permission, Jackie and Hyde jumped up from their chairs and headed towards the sliding doors. Jackie followed Hyde out quickly, eager to get as far away from this conversation as possible. As the two of them stepped onto the patio by the kitchen door they were instantly ambushed by their eavesdropping friends, who all looked determined to question them about what they no doubt had just over-heard.

It was clear by the looks on their faces that they already knew all about her and Steven's little secret.

Donna and Fez were both grinning at Jackie and Hyde, while Kelso had his arms crossed and was looking at her as if she'd grown two heads and Eric was staring at Hyde with a look of disgust on his face.

"Hey guys," Jackie broke the silence, pushing past the crowd that had formed in front of her to step off the patio and onto the driveway.

The rest of the group followed after her.

"So, did Red give it to you?" Eric wondered, directing his question at Hyde, who was moving to lean against the front of the Vista Cruiser.

Jackie watched as Steven shrugged, she walked over to the cruiser and pushed herself up so that she was sitting on the hood of the car, directly next to Steven.

"No worse then when he found out about you and Donna getting hitched," Hyde responded, and Jackie badly wished she could have been there to see Red's reaction to the news of Donna and Eric's engagement.

"No way man," Kelso chimed in, moving to stand in front of Jackie and Hyde. "That was way worse, Red got all red and veiny when he was yelling at you two," he looked over at Donna and Eric. "This time he was barely pink."

"Up close he looked purple," Donna muttered, staring off into the distance as if reliving the scene all over again.

"I just can't believe you guys are actually dating," Eric scrunched up his face in disgust as he looked back and forth from Jackie to Hyde. "It's just wrong."

Jackie frowned. "Shut up, Eric!" She exclaimed, sick of all the crap he was constantly giving her and also slightly worried that his opinion on their relationship meant more to Steven then he was letting on.

Eric was his best-friend after all, and after everything they had been through recently, she would hate for his comments of disdain for her to turn into just another obstacle for them to get around, just when they had worked their issues out and she was happier then she had been in a long time.

"Jackie… I don't get you man. You could have had me, but you chose Hyde?" Kelso added suddenly, pulling her back down to reality. "I mean, no offence to Hyde or anything but he's no me!"

Jackie rolled her eyes, but Hyde responded first.

"You mean I'm not a womanizing man-whore?" Hyde retaliated.

Kelso looked at him with a confused expression. "Okay I only know what one of those words mean, and I'm not a man-whore. I'm just an incredibly good-looking guy who attracts a lot of horny chicks and then does it with them!"

"Wait... Is that not the definition of man-whore…" Fez said, looking just as confused as Kelso.

"Jackie, I'm not apposed to doing it on the side… You know, when you get bored of Hy-" Kelso's words were cut off mid-sentence as Hyde leaned forward to frog him hard in the arm.

"Owe Hyde!... Okay I guess I deserved that one," Kelso muttered as he rubbed his sore arm.

"Look… Jackie and I are going out now, so you're all just gonna have to get over it," Hyde told the group and Jackie couldn't help the smile from forming on her face, she just loved hearing him say that they were dating.

"I'll try… But I can't make any promises," Eric responded.

"Me too," Kelso nodded his head in agreement.

Donna rolled her eyes at her fiancé and their friend. "You two know I'm cool with this. I'm just glad you're finally done being idiots and stopped lying."

"Thanks Donna…" Jackie smiled over at her friend, feeling a sudden surge of guilt shoot through her body.

Steven had told her the night before that Donna had worked out their secret over a week ago now and that she had been the one who convinced him to go after Jackie and show up at the dance. Donna had always been so supportive of her and Steven's feelings towards each other and Jackie had repaid her by lying to her face.

She owed her an apology.

"Fez?" Hyde prompted their last friend.

"Well I think you and Jackie make a sexy couple," Fez responded with a smile, creeping Jackie out slightly but she knew it was meant as a compliment.

"uh, thanks Fez," she said.

"I for one, cannot wait to watch the two of you make out in the basement," he added.

"Fez, if I catch you spying on me and Jackie, I'll kick your ass," Hyde threatened coolly.

In response, Fez inched further away from Hyde as Kelso chuckled from in-between the both of them.

"Man, this is gonna be fun," Kelso laughed.

* * *

5:20pm.  
Thursday, October 5th.  
Jackie's bedroom.

"Wow," Donna commented after following Jackie into her bedroom. "The last time I was in this room, it looked a whole lot different," she added, walking deeper into the room.

Jackie passed Donna to take a seat on her bed. When she moved in with the Forman's, this room had belonged to Laurie Forman and was full of her things. She'd redecorated a few weeks in, removing Laurie's personal items (they now lived in the Forman's attic) and replacing them with the few items she managed to bring from her old home in Manhattan.

Posters of Abba, Donny Osmond, Andy Gibb and the Captain and Tennille hung on the walls, tiger beat, and vogue magazines stacked on-top of the nightstand by the bed and clothes were spilling out of the small wardrobe.

Jackie had repurposed a desk, left over from Laurie's high school days, into a makeup station, adding an old mirror she'd found in the attic, to the wall behind in. She had also changed the bed lining as soon as she possibly could (not wanting to catch anything from Laurie's old ones), opting for a cute velvet blush-pink bed spread and matching fluffy cushions.

She'd been living with the Forman's now for over 2 months and this was the first time Donna had entered into her bedroom.

"I think it looks better this way," Jackie responded with a shrug as Donna continued looking around the room.

"Well it definitely smells better… It used to smell like rubbers," Donna screwed her nose up at the memory. Jackie knew exactly what she was talking about, as she'd noticed the smell the very day she moved in, luckily her perfume had masked the gross stench by now.

"Don't remind me, it took weeks to get rid of that smell," Jackie informed her and Donna laughed.

The red head moved to sit down on the bed next to her. "So, what's up Jackie… You said you needed my help with something?" She questioned.

Jackie nodded. There was something she needed help with, but first they needed to have a conversation that Jackie had been putting off all week.

"We'll get to that…" Jackie began, unsure of how to start the conversation. "There's something we need to talk about first"

She'd been feeling guilty for weeks about how she dealt with the beginning of her and Steven's relationship. Lying to Donna had affected their friendship, whether the two had admitted it or not and she valued their relationship too much to just let it slide.

"Are you okay Jackie, you look weird," Donna pointed out after a moment of silence between the two.

"No, I don't," Jackie took offence, but Donna just shrugged back, unapologetic.

That was another thing Jackie appreciated about Donna. Back in New York, her friends would always tip-toe around her, they were never real with her, too worried to say something that would upset her and ruin there social standing.

Donna didn't give a crap about that stuff, she actually said what she was thinking and called Jackie out on her dramatic, crazy behaviours.

"I just wanted to… Apologize for lying to you about Steven and I," Jackie finally got it out, feeling uncomfortable under Donna's gaze. "It was just really complicated to begin with and I felt like we needed to keep it just between us for a while until we worked things out, but I feel really guilty about it."

Donna nodded. "I guess I was a little confused, especially since I already knew how you guys felt about each-other and then all of a sudden you just stopped talking to me about it. But, I get why you did what you did and you don't need to apologize."

Jackie shook her head quickly. "No, I do… Donna, you're like the most genuine person I've ever met and I care about our friendship so I don't want this coming between us," she said before reaching her hand out to place on-top of Donna's, which was resting on the bed between the two of them.

"You know... You were the first person I wanted to tell when Steven kissed me for the first time," she informed her with a smile.

Donna instantly rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face told Jackie how she really felt about the sentiment.

"Okay ew," she laughed. "Apology forgiven midget… Now what did you need help with? I gotta tell you, if it's like sex advice or something, I'm out of here."

"Uh, no… Definitely not," Jackie shook her head. Her and Hyde had only just gotten to second base, she still wasn't ready to have sex and he'd been incredibly patient with her so far.

"Steven asked me if I wanted to go to the drive in's tomorrow night to see 'Halloween'," she informed Donna with a smile. He'd mentioned it casually, after he'd picked her up from school earlier that day as if it were no big deal, but Jackie had been in panic mode ever since.

She wished it was just the movie choice that made her nervous. Scary movies had never been her genre of choice, but she'd watch the grass grow if he asked her to. It was something much more concerning, that had her stressing.

"It's our first official date and I have no idea what I'm going to wear!" She exclaimed.

"And you're coming to me with this?" Donna questioned, a confused look on her face. "Even Fez would have been a better choice."

Jackie groaned before jumping off her bed and walking towards the closet that contained most of her clothes. "Donna, you've known Steven almost your whole life. I don't know what he likes on girls and you do so you have to help me!" She said as she began sifting through different dresses and blouses.

"Hyde won't care what you're wearing Jackie," Donna pointed out from her spot on the queen bed.

Jackie rolled her eyes from inside the closet. That was such a Donna thing to say.

"Okay but, Jeans or a skirt?" She questioned, coming out of the closet with a pair of Levi's in one hand and a denim maxi skirt in the other.

"Um… I don't know. But I do know he likes those short shorts, have any of those?" Donna questioned, trying to be helpful.

Jackie sighed and dropped the items of clothes onto the floor. "Of-course he likes short shorts Donna, every teenage boy living does but that doesn't mean I'm going to go on our first date with my butt cheeks exposed!"

Donna fell back onto the bed, exasperated. "Jackie, just wear whatever you'd normally wear on a date. Hyde likes you for you, you have nothing to worry about you're already dating him!"

"Argh, you were right. Fez would have been more helpful, I'm going to go get him."

* * *

9:05pm.  
Friday, October 6th.  
The Drive-ins.

The drive-ins were busy, always were on Friday nights but the horror movie had drawn in a bigger crowd then usual. Teenagers looking for a thrill, or a chance to get closer to their date, filled the car park.

When Jackie and Hyde had arrived, the movie had already started. They had planned to arrive 10 minutes early, but Jackie had been 20 minutes late. She was always at least 10 minutes late when it came to dates – keep them waiting and wanting more. But tonight's tardiness had been un-intentional, her hair refused to curl right, and she'd tried on at-least five different outfits before finding the perfect one.

She settled on a dark long-sleeved patterned midi dress pairing it with knee high boots, as it was a chilly night. If you asked her, she'd say she looked pretty damn good, even Steven had commented on how nice she looked – something he rarely bothered to do.

Now that they were finally here, on their first official date, she didn't get what she was so nervous about. It was their first official date, but they'd been sneaking around and seeing each-other for weeks now and he seemed to like her in whatever she was wearing.

Donna had been right and Jackie hated to admit it.

"I don't get it," Hyde began, pointing a finger towards the large screen at the front of the lot. "Why would you run up the stairs if there was some crazy killer with a knife coming at you?... Get out of the house man!"

The pair were seated in the back of his Camino, his arm around her shoulder and her body curled into his. She really hated scary movies and this one was no exception, she'd spent most of the movie so far, hiding behind the blanket they'd brought with them or in the crook of his neck.

"That's what you're so concerned about? That guy isn't human, it wouldn't matter where they ran he'd find them anyway, it's totally unfair!" Jackie pointed out, pulling the blanket higher over her eyes as Michael Myers found Jamie Lee Curtis hiding in the closet and she began to scream.

"You okay there, man?" He wondered with a smirk on his face as he looked down at Jackie hiding beneath their blanket.

Jackie nodded her head quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine... Just a little cold," she told him, lowering the blanket slowly.

Telling Steven that horror movies were her favourite kind when he had asked her out the other day, may have been a mistake. He had mentioned to her how he loved the thrill of a scary movie and she had wanted him to think that she was a cool girl, but that decision was back firing on her now.

Hyde chuckled back at her. "You hate this, don't you?" He asked her.

Jackie sighed, giving up the weak façade she'd been attempting to fool him with. "Yes, it's so scary!" She exclaimed, looking back to the screen right as another jump scare happened.

Screaming, she pulled the blanket back over her eyes.

"Alright, how about we go get something to eat?" Hyde questioned, pulling the blanket off the both of them and hoping down from the tray of the Camino.

"God yes," Jackie agreed quickly as Hyde reached out to help her down. When her feet were safely on the ground, Steven began leading them towards the concession stand, keeping her hand in his the whole way.

"Wanna tell me why you said you loved scary movies when clearly you don't?" He questioned her.

"I don't know, I guess I wanted us to have something in common?" She told him as they neared the concession stand.

She'd always thought the best relationships were good because those two people shared common interests. Her and Steven had no common interests, the only thing they shared were bad parents.

"I mean, everything you love I hate and everything I love you hate… That's not normal is it?" She added quickly.

Hyde shrugged. "I don't know… All I know is, my parents had tons of stuff in common and look how great that turned out," he pointed out and Jackie frowned, his parents weren't exactly the best example of a healthy relationship.

"Besides, normal's kinda boring anyway," he added.

Jackie smiled. "I guess so," she agreed as they reached the back of the long line that lead to the front of the concession stand, the smell of popcorn and sugar filled the air and her stomach made a low rumbling noise in response.

"You don't have to pretend to like shit just cause I do, Okay?" Hyde told her.

Jackie nodded her head, feeling slightly ridiculous for even bringing it up. She liked how different they were to each-other, it was part of the reason she'd been attracted to him in the first place.

"Okay," she responded.

"Good. Cause I kinda like you the way you are… Tell anyone I said that and I'll deny it till the day I die."

Jackie laughed, knowing he was joking with her. "You're such a softy," she pointed out with a smile on her face.

"I'm not a softy, Jackie," he denied with a blank look but he couldn't take back what he had just said to her.

His words had betrayed his cool - 'couldn't care less' persona.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she assured him, placing her hands on his chest and leaning up to peck him on the lips.

Hyde looked down at her with the same sullen expression, but he wrapped his arms around her anyway. "Fine," he began but his voice trailed off as he turned his head towards the couple standing in the line in front of them.

His arms dropped from around her and he turned his body in their direction to get a better look. Jackie frowned, upset that his attention was now on someone else instead of her. As she looked over to get a better look at the couple in front of them, Hyde reached out to place his hand on the man's shoulder.

"Kelso, that you man?" He wondered as the figure turned to them.

Jackie hadn't noticed, but surely enough the man standing in line in front of them had been their friend Kelso this whole time.

"Hey Hyde, Jackie!" Kelso's mouth stretched into a wide smile as he pulled Hyde into a hug, earning him a rough smack across the arm in response. "What are you guys doing here?" He questioned a moment later.

Jackie didn't bother responding, to busy looking over the girl that was with Michael. She looked familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on just how she knew her.

"Watching the movie, you moron," Hyde responded for the both of them, clearly frustrated.

Kelso just laughed. "Oh yeah."

"Uh, Michael… Want to introduce us to your date?" Jackie asked a moment later, eyeing the tall brunette who stood in front of her.

Kelso smiled brightly and wrapped his arm around the girl. "This is Brooke,"  
he introduced her.

Jackie couldn't help but gasp at the revelation. "No way," she muttered. So, this was Brooke. Last she had heard, Brooke still couldn't stand Michael. She wondered how he had gotten her to agree to going on a date with him.

"Do I know you?" Brooke wondered, probably confused by Jackie's shocked reaction.

"No sorry," Jackie quickly corrected her. "I'm Jackie Burkhart and this is Steven J Hyde… The third."

"The first two are in jail," Hyde responded coolly and Brooke stared back at the two with a concerned expression.

Jackie laughed. "He's joking."

"No, I'm not," Hyde responded.

Brookes eyes darted between Hyde and Jackies. "Um okay… We'll it's nice meeting you both," she said uncomfortably.

"So, the big guy finally wore you down huh?" Hyde changed the subject, looking over at Kelso who still had the same cocky look on his face.

Brooke sighed in response. "Well he wouldn't stop coming to my work, I had to agree to a date to get him to stop… He was making some of the older women uncomfortable," she told the couple.

Jackie had to hold in the laughter that was fighting to escape her lips.

Kelso stepped forward. "She means horny," he added with a grin.

"Ew Michael, she so does not," Jackie scrunched her nose up, grossed out by the aspect of horny older women.

"Does too Jackie," Kelso fought back as the line began moving forward.

Jackie rolled her eyes at Kelso as Brooke spoke up again.

"So how do you guys know each-other?" She wondered, looking at Kelso for the answer.

"Oh well, me and Hyde have been buddies forever. He lives in our other friends basement and Jackie just moved into the same house a few months ago," he made short of a complicated story.

Brooke looked at Hyde and Jackie with a confused expression. "You both live with this other friends family? What happened?" She questioned and Jackie assumed she had really meant to ask what happened to their own families.

"We're children of abandonment," Hyde answered first with a blank look on his face.

Jackie nodded back. "He's not kidding."

Brooke looked mortified by their response. Jackie guessed she wasn't used to people being so blunt about things as serious as abandonment.

"Um, Okay…" The brunette responded right as they reached the front of the line, giving her the perfect excuse to end the conversation.

As both Kelso and Brooke turned away from them to order their food, Jackie turned to face Hyde with a smile on her face.

"I think we freaked her out," she pointed out and laughed.

Hyde chuckled along with her. "What do you say I tell her about the time my mum got so loaded on mouthwash, she lost our rent money at the track."

* * *

12:55am.  
Later than night.  
The Forman's.

Hyde stood at the foot of the stairs, facing Jackie who stood on the first step. She had her arms wrapped around his neck and he had his around her waist. They'd been here for about 5 minutes, neither wanting to say goodnight yet.

If it were up to Hyde they'd still be on their date, but Red's new rules were officially in place and Jackie now had a curfew of 1:00am on the weekends so he had to take her home, cutting their night short.

After the drive-ins they went to Mount Hump, seeing as Jackie was no longer allowed in the basement past midnight and he wasn't allowed upstairs at all. Mount Hump was quickly becoming a regular spot for the couple since their first kiss there all those weeks ago.

"I wish we could have stayed out just a little bit longer," Jackie sighed, and Hyde agreed.

They'd gotten pretty hot and heavy in the back of the Camino before realizing they had to get home if they wanted Jackie to be back before curfew. He'd driven home with a painfully hard erection.

"Red's rules kinda ruined the moment," he responded.

"Kinda… But I still had a great night," she told him with a smile and Hyde grinned back, happy she'd had a good time despite the movie choice.

"You're pretty good at this whole dating thing…"

Hyde nodded, his eyes drifting down to her plumb lips, still slightly swollen from their time at Mount Hump.

"It's not as bad as I thought," he admitted to her quietly before pulling her towards him and crashing his lips on to hers.

Red said there was no 'hanky-panky' in his house, but he didn't say anything about kissing and thank God for that because Hyde wouldn't have lasted an hour.

He'd kissed a lot of chicks in his time but kissing her was something else entirely, no one came close.

She was leaning against him now, trying to get as close as possible while her fingers laced through his hair. His hands trailed lower down her body before grabbing at her ass as their kiss deepened and her tongue slipped over his own.

She moaned into his mouth when his grip tightened over her backside.

He was close to saying 'fuck it' to Red's rule and carrying her downstairs to the basement, when a light turned on from the top of the staircase and loud footsteps broke the two apart.

Red Forman stood at the top of the stairs, glaring down at the couple who jumped away from each-other quickly. Hyde wasn't sure how the older man had heard them from all the way in his room, considering they'd been pretty quiet this whole time.

Red had probably been waiting up to catch them breaking one of his rules.

"What the hell is this?" Red commented angrily as Hyde ran a hand down his face, trying to control his breathing.

"It's not 1 yet Red," Hyde informed him a moment later.

"It's, 1:05 smart ass," Red responded. "Next time I catch the two of you breaking one of the rules, there's gonna be consequences."

"Technically I had her home before 1… That was the rule man," Hyde pointed out and Jackie nodded along in agreement.

Red glared down at him. "Fine, new rule… Jackie has to be in her room by 1 on the weekends and 11 on the weeknights."

Hyde sighed and looked over at Jackie, who had the same sullen expression on her face. It looked like Red wasn't going to ease up on these rules in any shape or form.

"What are you waiting for? Get to your room young lady!" Red yelled, startling Jackie.

"Night, Steven," she quickly leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek before flashing him a smile and running up the stairs.

Hyde watched after her from the bottom of the stairs, briefly contemplating whether it would be worth waiting for Red to go back to bed so that he could sneak up to her room and they could finish that kiss.

Once she disappeared around the corner his eyes shifted towards the older Forman, who was still standing at the top of the stairs with his arms crossed, obviously onto him.

"Why are you still standing there? Unless you want another kiss goodnight, you'll get your ass down to the basement," the older man ordered.

"Yes sir," Hyde muttered, turning and leaving the foot of the stairs to head towards the basement. Now he knew what Forman had been complaining about all these years, Red could be scary when he wanted to be.

If Hyde ever wanted to get up the stairs and into Jackie's room, he'd need to be some sort of magician to pull it off without Red finding out. He'd work it out eventually, but until then they'd have to work with Red's rules the best they could.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! x**


	19. Laurie's Dramatic Return

Chapter 19.

Thursday, October 12th.  
12:25pm.  
The Hub.

"But Kelso, I don't like the library. It's boring and it has a weird smell and we spent all day yesterday there!" Fez complained as he followed Kelso out of the Hub doors and onto the side walk.

They were arguing about what to do with the rest of their day. Kelso was lobbying for the library (so he could continue to stalk Brooke) but Fez wanted to go to Jerry's Ice Cream Parlor in the Point Place mall.

"I told you Fez, I'm trying to get Brooke to go on a second date with me," Kelso informed him.

Fez rolled his eyes. Kelso had been obsessing over this girl for weeks now and he was getting sick of it. He missed the days where he had his friend all to himself, before Brooke had entered into their lives and ruined everything.

"Who cares about Brooke," he responded jealously, folding his arms across his chest and standing his ground.

Brooke, Brooke, Brooke, it was all he heard about these days.

Fez didn't go around talking about his wife all day long. He suppressed the urge and pushed his feelings deep-deep down, where they belonged… Which is exactly what Kelso should be doing with Brooke, if you asked him.

"Man, I don't care," Kelso brushed it off, but his true feelings were obvious.

Fez had heard all about his friend's date with the librarian at the drive-in's the weekend prior. They'd shared a kiss in the front seat of Kelso's van during the scariest part of the movie, only to have Brooke friend zone him the next day.

He'd spent the entire week following, trying to get out of the friend zone, but hanging around the library all day wasn't helping, and Fez refused to spend another second in that dusty- smelly old building.

"I just don't get it… We had a good time the other night and I know she enjoyed kissing me, cause I'm an excellent kisser - just ask any of the other girls I've made it with! Then she goes and tells me she just wants to be friends? Something's up Fez…" Kelso trailed off as if trying to work out the mystery.

It didn't look like they were going to the mall for ice-cream anytime soon, so Fez shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket to keep warm and leaned his back against the brick wall of the Hub.

"There's gotta be something wrong with her," Kelso continued with a frown on his face.

Fez groaned. "Or maybe there's something wrong with you!" He exclaimed, frustrated.

"No, it's definitely her man…" Kelso responded but Fez barely heard him.

A flash of blonde hair and a familiar figure had distracted him.

Pushing off the wall, he squinted his eyes to get a better look at the bus stop across the main road where a blonde girl had just gotten off the bus and caught his eye.

It was hard to tell from where he was standing, but the blonde girl looked almost exactly like his wife Laurie, but she was too far away, and his eyes were having trouble focusing. By the time he had gotten a clearer image, the girl had collected her two suitcases from the bus driver and was waving down a taxi in short-shorts and a belly top.

When a taxi pulled up next to her, the mysterious blonde turned her body in Fez's direction, proving his suspicions right.

The girl across the road was in-fact Laurie Forman, back from Chicago.

"Fez?" Kelso's voice broke Fez out of his trance and brought him back to reality. "What are you looking at?" He questioned, turning to look in the direction Fez had been staring.

"It's Laurie, that jezebel!" Fez informed him and took off.

Laurie was loading her bags in the back of the taxi when Fez began crossing the Hub car park and heading towards her.

"Laurie!" He shouted, stuck on the opposite side of the road as cars zoomed by him. By the time it was safe to cross, his wife was already inside the taxi, heading off to her next destination.

He had just missed her, but he was pretty sure he knew where she'd be heading.

"So, Laurie's back," Kelso stated the obvious a moment later, after appearing at Fez's side again. "Been awhile hey?" he slapped a hand over Fez's shoulder.

It was true, the last time they'd heard from Laurie had been when she'd made an appearance at Vanstock. Where she had told Fez, their marriage didn't mean anything to her and ordered him to leave her alone.

Since then he'd attempted to contact her multiple times and every-time he'd been sent straight to the answering machine. He'd informed her (through voice mail), about the agent from immigration who was coming to verify that their marriage was legitimate and begged her to come back to Point Place for the home visit - to save him from being deported.

He'd given up hope the last time he'd called, and some other man had answered. He'd been laughed at when he asked to speak to his wife Laurie, and then hung up on.

But she was in town now, he'd seen her with his own eyes and he knew where she was going next.

Could it be possible she'd come back for him?

He needed to know.

"We need to go to the Forman's," he told Kelso.

Kelso whined. "But the lib-"

"Now!"

* * *

12:35pm.  
The Forman's.

Eric, Donna and Hyde were hanging around the driveway of the Forman property. Eric was bouncing the basketball towards the net while Donna and Hyde stood back towards the kitchen patio and watched.

"I can't believe Red is being so strict with you and Jackie," Eric heard Donna say to Hyde as he dunked the ball through the hoop.

Eric couldn't help but laugh at the statement.

"Are you kidding?" He wondered as he walked back over to his two friends by the porch. "You're surprised Red Forman is being strict? Might I remind you of how he reacted when you and I got engaged?"

"That was different," Donna started. "And I mean it's Hyde, he's like Red's favorite."

Eric frowned but didn't bother to correct her. Sure, he was Red's kid, but even he couldn't deny the weird bond his father and Hyde shared.

"No man, Jackie's the favorite now," Hyde disagreed.

It was true that ever since Jackie had moved in with the family, Red had developed a soft spot for the girl. She was kind of like the daughter he'd always wanted to have, considering Laurie had turned out the way she did.

"Think it's pretty clear what these rules are really about," Hyde continued.

"What are you talking about?" Eric wondered.

"Red's trying to keep Hyde from dirtying up Jackie," Donna answered the question for him.

"Exactly," Hyde agreed with her. "Cept' he's too late cause she's plenty dirty already," he grinned widely, and Eric shuddered as his minded involuntarily drifted to what his friend could mean.

"Alright, I'm officially done talking about Hyde and Jackie's creepy relationship," Eric informed the two a moment later and walked away from them - back towards the basketball ring.

"What crawled up your butt?" Hyde questioned as he followed after Eric with Donna in his tracks.

Eric bent to pick up the ball. "You and Jackie," he paused to throw the ball to Hyde. "Then you started making out in there," he added and cringed.

Hyde rolled his eyes and took the shot, sinking the ball through the hoop effortlessly. "Yeah well you better get over it, cause me and Jackie might be together for a while," he told him with a shrug, as if it weren't a big deal.

Eric groaned. He'd been hoping this relationship was some phase that Hyde had to go through and that it would be over sooner rather than later, he was beginning to worry that wasn't the case.

"But man, she's the devil," he complained back, earning a shove from Donna.

"What can I do? She's hot," Hyde responded, throwing the ball back to Eric.

Eric frowned before shaking his head. "No, you only think she's hot because she's made of hell fire."

Donna groaned, stealing the ball from Eric and getting the attention of both boys. "Eric, for the last time – stop referring to Jackie as the devil," she warned him in a serious, stern tone that she normally only used for when they were arguing.

"I think they make a cute couple," she added a second later and Eric stifled a laugh, knowing how Hyde was going to take the statement.

"Don't call us cute," Hyde ordered, pointing a finger at Donna. "Jackie and I aren't cute, we're creepy and unnatural and that's the way I like it."

Donna rolled her eyes, "Well, you're those things too… But I've seen the way you are together, and I hate to tell you this but you're really sweet with her and _that's_ cute."

Eric watched as Hyde's face screwed up into a frown and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Man, I'm turning into Forman… I gotta go steal something," Hyde muttered.

"As long as you're back home by 11, it's a school night," Eric pointed out with a big smile on his face.

As much as he was grossed out by Hyde and Jackie's new relationship, he had to admit it was fun finally having something to burn Hyde about.

"Get bent Forman," Hyde said as he stepped towards him, but before he had the chance to retaliate or punch Eric in the arm, a taxi pulled into the driveway – getting the attention of the three teenagers.

Eric turned towards the taxi as the door opened to reveal his older sister, Laurie.

_What the hell was she doing back here? _

"Hey little brother!" The blonde called as she waved to him.

Eric froze in response and watched as she pulled out two suitcases from the trunk of the car, confirming his worst nightmare.

Laurie was moving back in.

"I can't believe this," Donna spoke from beside him, obviously coming to the same conclusion as him.

"Can I get a little help with this?!" Laurie yelled from the other end of the drive-way, struggling with her two bags as the taxi pulled away from her and drove off.

Eric, Hyde and Donna slowly walked towards her.

"This'll be fun…" Hyde muttered sarcastically as they got closer.

Whatever his sister was here for, whatever her motives were (probably money, it was always money), Eric could say for sure that there would be nothing fun about it.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned once they reached her.

Laurie flashed him a mean look. "Duh, I'm moving back in doofus," she stated, confirming his theory. "Hyde, Donna, you guys better take the bags… Eric's little arms are probably too weak to lift them," she added insult to injury.

Eric glared over at Hyde as he began to chuckle at the burn inflicted upon him.

"Bring them inside," Laurie ordered before walking off towards the house and leaving the three of them by her things.

"Eric, I gotta say… I really hate your sister," Donna said.

* * *

12:50pm.  
The Forman's kitchen.

There was an eerie silence inside the kitchen as Kitty poured coffee into a mug by the stove top kettle.

Her daughter Laurie sat at the kitchen table with Red and Eric, while Steven sat, watching and waiting, on a bar stool by the breakfast counter. No one spoke a word, nothing had been said since Laurie had entered the house declaring her sudden return.

Kitty suspected they were all waiting for her, but she needed time to process what the return of her troubled daughter would mean for the family. If history had taught her anything, it was that her daughters surprises were never of the good kind.

9 times out of 10 it was always about money but this time Kitty and Red had nothing left to spare. Kitty would give an arm or a leg for her children, everyone knew that, but she worried there was no more to give.

As she stirred some sugar into her coffee, Kitty turned to check on her family by the table. Satisfied when she noticed none were looking in her direction, she quickly reached into the cupboard underneath the sink to grab out a bottle of vodka. Pouring a splash into her coffee, she had the bottle back under the sink before anyone had even noticed.

Or at-least she thought.

As Kitty looked back up her eyes connected with Steven, he looked from her to the mug in her hands with a frown on his face.

"Oh shh, this is how the Russians drink it." Kitty whispered.

She understood that he was sensitive when it came to her drinking (a side-effect from living with Edna for so long), and usually she was a lot better about hiding her drinking from him but if there was ever a day where vodka was needed, today was that day.

Luckily, the rest of her family still seemed to be oblivious to the special ingredient in her coffee.

"Well…" Eric suddenly opened his mouth, breaking the silence first. "There hasn't been this much tension in the house since you gave dad a heart-attack," he commented, staring across the table at his sister.

"Really good to have you back sis," he added but Kitty chose to ignore the sarcasm dripping from his words.

It was easier for her to pretend that her children got along, and that Laurie was just a sweet girl who was misunderstood.

"Yeah, it's really starting to feel like home," Hyde cleared his throat, getting the attention of everyone in the room. "Cept' everyone's wearing a shirt…" He continued, and Kitty flashed him a horrified look.

Their adopted sons past never ceased to shock and sadden her. Thank God they had been able to give him the home and the family that he deserved.

"Enough," Red ordered with his hand in the air. Kitty sipped her coffee and remained in the kitchen as she let her husband take the reins. Laurie always did listen to him more than she did her.

"Laurie, what's going on? You need money?" Red wondered, staring over at his daughter who looked nervous under his gaze.

"No daddy," she spoke up, batting her lashes at him like she always did when she needed something from him. Kitty had learned to resist the power of her daughters charm a while ago, but Red was still no match for it.

"I want to come home," their daughter added after a moment's pause. "I'm sorry for running away after your heart attack but I thought it was my fault and I was scared… I just couldn't bear to lose you and I just felt so guilty"

At this, Kitty's heart melted to putty in her hands. Even Red seemed to have been emotionally affected by her unusually sincere apology as he was clearly at a loss for words.

"Oh what-ever!" Eric rolled his eyes. "She's full of it dad, she didn't ditch town because she was scared. She ditched because that's just what she does. Then she comes back with some sap story and gets you and mom to forgive her and then she gets to live here for free for a few more months until she saves up enough money to ditch us again!"

"Shut up dingus!" Laurie yelled back at her brother.

"You're just mad because you know it's the truth!"

"Is not, Erica!"

"Oh, real mature!"

"That's it!" Red stood up from his chair suddenly, startling everyone in the kitchen and successfully shutting their two kids up. "One more word out of either of your mouths and I'll be kicking your butts so hard, your noses will bleed. Am I clear?" He questioned their kids, pointing a finger at the both of them.

Eric went to open his mouth but thought better all of a sudden, choosing to sit in silence under his father's glare.

Kitty swallowed the rest of her Russian coffee and stepped towards the kitchen table. Letting Red take charge of the situation hadn't been working as well as she had hoped.

Never send a man to do a woman's job.

"Laurie, honey… Of-course we are happy that you're home and safe," she began, flashing her daughter a reassuring smile. "And of-course we never blamed you for Red's heart attack, nor do we think it was your fault,"

Steven's muffled laughter cut through the room.

"Well not entirely your fault," Kitty muttered awkwardly before continuing. "It's just that we weren't expecting you and now that Jackie is staying with us… There's not a lot of room in the house," she mumbled, feeling guilty.

"Jackie?" Laurie repeated with an annoyed expression on her face. "Who cares about Jackie, I'm your daughter!"

"You heard mom," Eric cut in, Red's last words of warning seemingly forgotten. "There's no room for you here so maybe you can go and live with someone else?... Say I don't know, your husband!"

"My foot is twitching to kick your ass boy, keep testing it!" Red warned his son and Eric shut his mouth. "Laurie, if you need a place to stay you can share your old room with Jackie," he informed her a moment later.

Kitty watched as Laurie's mouth dropped open from the shock of not getting her way.

"Oh, that's going to be a disaster," Eric grumbled.

"It'll be World War III… Better start building the bomb shelter man," Hyde added, shaking his head.

Kitty thought they were over exaggerating. Laurie and Jackie might get along, they were both girly girls after all.

"I can't believe you're making me share my own room with one of your random orphan cases," Laurie began to complain but before she could continue, the sliding door to the kitchen was flung open to reveal a puffed-out Fez and Michael Kelso.

"Oh no," Kitty sighed.

"Damnit Ali-Baba, now's not the time!" Red yelled.

"Fez, what the hell?" Laurie stood from the table to face her husband who was still trying to catch his breath by the breakfast counter.

"Laurie-" Fez started, wheezing and clutching his side with a pained expression. "Ai, stitches-" He groaned suddenly.

Kitty quickly grabbed a glass of a water for her son's foreign friend and circled around the kitchen to hand him the drink. "Here, this will help," she told him as he grabbed hold of the glass before chugging the water down.

Everyone in the room watched as Fez stood up straight and turned back to face Laurie.

"You're back," he pointed out the obvious.

Laurie rolled her eyes. "Well duh, but I didn't come back for you," she told him harshly.

Fez deflated. "Did you get my messages?" He asked quietly.

"What messages?" She blinked back at him with a blank expression on her face.

Even Kitty could tell she was lying.

"Oh, don't play with me missy! The one's about the immigration agent!" Fez yelled back.

"Hang on!" Red shouted, looking back and forth between Laurie and Fez. "What immigration agent?"

The room went silent as everyone waiting for Fez to explain himself to Red but the longer the silence stretched, the more evident it was that Fez wasn't prepared to spill the beans to him.

Surprisingly, it was Kelso who spoke up first.

"Some agent from immigration is going to come check on Laurie and Fez's marriage," he informed the room, although only Kitty and Red reacted to the news. Proving they were the last to find out, like usual.

"If they decide Fez and Laurie's marriage is fake, Fez'll get deported and Laurie could go to jail," Hyde added to Kelso's sentence and Kitty gasped.

"Oh Red, we can't let that happen!" She exclaimed, panicking now.

"It won't happen Kitty, calm down," he assured her in a sweet tone. "Alright… This is what's going to happen," he said before turning to Laurie. "You're going to convince that agent that your marriage to Aladdin is real, and after the both of you are given the all clear, you're going to get a divorce and end this once and for all… Do I make myself clear?"

Laurie nodded her head slowly in response. "Yes daddy," she mumbled under her breath.

"How bout you?" Red turned to Fez.

"Yes sir," he responded, a sad expression on his face.

* * *

4:50pm  
The Formans.

When Jackie got home from school, the Forman residence was empty. The usual crowded house was completely void of all people, a strange occurrence that had Jackie on edge as she made her way through the house towards her bedroom, school bag in hand.

She was aware that Steven, Eric and Kelso were working the afternoon shift at the Holiday Hotel and wouldn't be finished until later tonight, but that only accounted for half of the crowd that were normally present in the house.

Mr. and Mrs. Forman were no where to be seen and Fez and Donna were missing too.

What was going on here?

As she headed up the stairs, she was reminded of what it was like living in New-York. Coming home from school to an empty house day in and out had taken a toll on her psyche and although she'd only been with the Forman's for a few months now, she'd gotten used to being surrounded by friends and family constantly.

It was a feeling she couldn't express but one that filled her with more happiness then she thought possible. All she knew was she never wanted to go back to the way she used to feel in New-York.

When she rounded the corner upstairs towards her bedroom, she noticed the door was half open. Which was strange considering when she had left for school in the morning, she specifically remembered closing it.

Sensing something was going on, she approached the room carefully. A hundred possible explanations came to mind and most of them had to do with her friends playing some sort of prank on her.

Maybe they were all hiding in her room, waiting to scare her?

But what she found in her room, was much worse then any prank.

Jackie stood in the doorway, shocked as she watched Laurie Forman move handfuls of her clothes out of the closet and dumping them in a pile on the floor in the corner. She noticed her posters had also been removed, replaced with ones of Laurie's favorite bands and the Charlies Angels.

There was also a single mattress laying on the floor in the front of the room, making it even more clear as to what was going on here.

This was her worst nightmare.

"No," Jackie shook her head, stepping further into the room and announcing her presence to Laurie. "No, no, no," she continued, shaking her head quickly.

Laurie paused by the closet, her arms full of more of Jackie's clothing. "Oh, it's you," she said before unceremoniously dropping her things onto the floor. "Listen, this is how it's going to be. I'm moving back in and since my parents refused to kick you out for whatever reason, we'll be sharing this room… I'm willing to give you that corner over there, where you can keep all your crap and I'll of course be taking my bed back, so you'll be sleeping on that," she motioned her hand towards the single mattress that lay bare by Jackie's feet.

Jackie's mouth hung open, in complete shock.

There was no way that this is what Mr. and Mrs. Forman would have agreed too. Laurie had been gone for months and this was _her_ room now, she refused to be bullied by her.

"No, that's not happening," Jackie said suddenly, stepping over the mattress and over to the corner of the room where most of her clothes laid in a pile on the floor. "We all know it's only a matter of time before you run off with a married man or the circus or something, so it should be your things piled up in the corner and I should get the closet."

She stated as she picked up a large amount of her things and walked them back into the closet, stuffing them back into draws.

"And you can have the mattress on the floor!"

Laurie squealed, pushing Jackie to the side as she stormed back into the closet, grabbing onto Jackie's cheerleading skirt. "This is my room!" She yelled.

Jackie grabbed hold of her skirt and pulled, trying to take it back from the blonde but Laurie had a tight grip. "No, it's my room!" She shouted back angrily as they both wrestled for possession of the skirt.

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

They yelled back and forth but Jackie was stronger and was finally able to yank her skirt free of Laurie's hold. The force caused Laurie to stumble backwards and trip over the mattress on the floor, falling to the ground in a loud thud.

"Argh!" Laurie screamed as Jackie stepped forward towards her. "You pushed me! You are going to regret that!" she shouted, pushing herself up and off the floor.

Jackie frowned. "I didn't push you, you just fell! It's not my fault you're a spaz," she told her, placing her hands on her hips.

"Oh yeah? Well who do you think my parents will believe?" The blonde questioned, an evil grin on her face.

Jackie felt her blood boiling. So, this is how it was going to be?

"You can't be serious?" She questioned.

Laurie shrugged. "Don't try me Jackie, I could make your life a living hell here."

Silence filled the room as the two stood in front of each-other, each girl sizing up the other. Jackie knew this could go two ways, either she gives in to Laurie's wishes and lives like a refugee in her own bedroom in order to obtain some level of peace, or she could stand up for herself and deal with the consequences.

It wasn't a hard choice to make.

"Go ahead and tell your parents that I pushed you Laurie, they won't believe you because you're a liar and they know it," she pointed out and watched as Laurie flashed her a dirty look.

"I'll sleep on the mattress, but we're sharing closet space and my ABBA posters are going back up," she conceded, hoping Laurie would except the terms.

Besides she figured the single mattress wasn't nearly as bad as the army cot Steven had to sleep on every-night.

"Fine," Laurie spat back after a moment's pause. "But your cleaning up all this mess," she added before turning and leaving Jackie to deal with the aftermath of their fight.

Her clothes were all over the place and she'd have to spend the next hour cleaning up a mess she didn't make. Sharing a room with Laurie was going to be a constant challenge, one she wasn't sure she was ready for.

She'd just relaxed into life here and now everything was going to change again. Laurie was going to make her life a living hell, she'd said so herself and there was nothing Jackie could do about it because like it or not, Laurie was the Forman's daughter and they'd pick her over Jackie every-time.

She let out a frustrated scream and kicked the mattress on the floor (her new bed) repeatedly.

* * *

10:15pm  
Hyde's room.

"And then she made me clean up the whole mess!" Jackie exclaimed.

She was sitting on his army coat, he'd found her in his room after he'd gotten back from work and like he expected she was less then pleased about Laurie's return. As he got changed out of his work clothes into a pair of joggers and a plain grey shirt, she had filled him in on what he'd missed while he was at work.

He'd never seen her this worked up before, not even her mother had gotten her _this _mad. He predicted that there was going to be issues between the two girls, you couldn't have two dominant personalities like Laurie and Jackie sharing a room without them clashing but he never thought it would get to Jackie this much.

"I hate her Steven! I can't believe Fez married her… I can't believe I have to share a room with her!" Jackie groaned loudly, falling back onto his bed suddenly. "What am I going to do?" She questioned.

Hyde sighed, walking across the small room to sit down next to her.

"Look, it's not like you spend a lot of time in that room. I mean you spend most of your time down here with us, you'll hardly have to see her anyway," he tried to be helpful.

Jackie frowned. "Can I just sleep in here with you?" She questioned.

"If Red catches you down here after hours, he'll kick our asses man," Hyde pointed out, even though the he wanted nothing more than to have her in his bed.

But she knew the rules just as well as he did and Red was acting crazy lately, he wasn't about to risk getting caught and having even stricter rules put in place as a consequence. It was hard enough as things were now getting time alone with Jackie, he didn't want to push his luck.

"I know…" Jackie mumbled, sitting back up and turning her body to face him. "You're right… I just have to suck it up."

"I know Laurie's a bitch but trust me, she's all talk," Hyde assured her before smiling. "You could take her any day of the week."

Jackie smiled softly. "You think so?" She wondered.

He nodded, not even needed a moment to think it over. "Yeah man, you could definitely kick her ass."

She laughed, and his smile widen. He loved hearing her laugh, better yet he loved being the one who got to make her laugh.

"I missed you today," she admitted to him softly a moment later.

They'd spent all of last night together and he'd taken her to school in the morning, besides his friends he'd never spent this much time with anyone else but even he had to admit he'd missed her too.

"We got another 45 minutes until your curfew," he reminded her, reaching out to wrap his arms around her waist before pulling her closer to him. "How about you show me just how much you missed me?"

She laughed in response and he watched as she changed positions, moving so that she was now sitting on his lap. He kept his arms around her waist while hers came up around his neck.

"First you have to admit you missed me too," she said suddenly, with a wicked grin on her face.

Hyde sighed. He hated all that sappy stuff, and he knew she knew it too but that had never stopped her before. She was always trying to get him talking about his feelings and all of that mushy crap, it gave him the shakes, but she was relentless, and he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere unless he gave in.

"Jackie, you know I did," he muttered uncomfortably.

"You have to say the words," she pointed out stubbornly.

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Can't believe I'm being blackmailed by a 95-pound brunette with pink toe-nails."

"I learned from the best," she smiled back at him, completely unphased by his outburst.

He was grinning back before he even noticed. As annoying as she was, making him admit all this sappy Forman-y stuff to her, he couldn't deny she was coming along nicely.

"That you did," he agreed before quickly picking her up and flipping her down onto the bed, so that she was laying down on her back. She was laughing as he climbed on top of her, he bent down and began placing kisses across her neck.

"Say it," she ordered, but the moan she let out as he sucked the sensitive spot on her neck negated the power she held against him.

Either way, he was in too good of a mood to deny her.

"Mm, I missed you too," he mumbled against her skin.

She dug her fingers into his hair and pulled, guiding him up to her face. Less than a second later she was kissing him, and he was reminded of why he always caved when it came to her.

Red's rules and Laurie's sudden return were going to make life difficult and things were going to be tougher from now on, but they'd get through it, he was sure of it. They had each-other now and he was always going to have her back, no matter what


	20. Fun Land

Chapter 20.

10:30am  
Saturday, October 21st  
The Basement

It had been over a week since Laurie Forman had returned to the Forman household, bringing along her baggage and the mayhem and devastation that usually came hand-in-hand with it.

Hyde had found himself to be somewhat of an outsider since her return, the blonde's wrath had been targeted elsewhere for a change, so he had mostly been sitting back and watching the rest of the house go crazy for the past 8 days.

Normally he'd enjoy such a scene.

Back when he and Laurie were sharing a living space, pre the whole marriage/heart-attack incident, he'd enjoyed sparring with the complicated prodigal-daughter but that was when Laurie had been the only complicated prodigal-daughter in the house.

Now there was two of them and he was dating one.

After 8 days, he couldn't take anymore of it. The constant fighting, screaming and complaining was starting to get to him along with the rest of basement gang and something had to be done.

"I'm going to kill her!" Jackie yelled as she came trudging down the stairs into the basement.

All week his chick had been stressing over her current living situation and he felt bad for her, he really did but he wasn't sure how much more he could listen to.

Between Jackie's rage-blackouts and Fez's sad rants, he badly needed a day off and maybe a fat joint or two.

"She's up there right now drawing a line through the middle of our room with masking tape," Jackie continued, almost red in the face as she began pacing up and down behind the couch. "Says she doesn't want my skank germs on her side of the room… Like she has anything to worry about, I should be worried about catching one of her multiple STD's!"

"I think Fez should be the one worried about that actually," Donna pointed out from her spot on the couch in-between Fez and Eric.

"Well jokes on you missy but my wife and I don't have sex," Fez responded, naively burning himself in the process of his comeback.

"Wait… Does Laurie actually have a disease?" Kelso wondered suddenly, shooting a worried glance over at Hyde from his seat on the lawn chair across from him.

Hyde leaned back in his seat. "Don't worry Kelso, that rash cleared up right?" He reminded his friend who nodded back quickly. "So, you're fine," he told him and watched as his friend visibly relaxed at his words. "But I could be wrong," he added after a moment's pause just to freak him out.

Before Kelso could respond, Jackie's voice was ringing through the small basement once again.

"I'm so glad we're going to Fun-land today, this is exactly what I needed," she started, walking around the couch and over to Hyde before sitting down on his lap. "If I had to spend one more second here with that woman I think I'd lose my freaking mind."

It had been Kelso's idea to go to Fun Land, a suggestion the guy made regularly considering it was pretty much his favorite place in Wisconsin. Normally his suggestion got shut down quicker than Fez when trying to sleep with his wife, but this week had been stressful for everyone and a few hours of fun at a theme park far away from the Forman house seemed like a great idea.

"You and me both, doll," Hyde agreed, loosely wrapping an arm around Jackie as she leaned back into him to get comfortable.

Lately Jackie's new favorite spot in the basement was his lap, sometimes they sat in the same position for so long his legs would get all tingly and numb but still he never complained.

"We better head out before the traffic gets bad," Eric stated suddenly, looking down at his Scooby-Doo watch.

They were taking the Vista Cruiser today which made Forman in-charge, he'd already mapped out the route they'd be taking as well as scheduled an arrival and departure time to ensure minimal traffic.

Hyde had wanted to drive up in the Camino but the whole group would fit in the Cruiser so there was no point wasting the gas.

"What traffic is there going to be at 10:30 on a Saturday morning?" Donna questioned, frowning over at her fiancé.

"Fun-Land traffic missy, it's the worst kind. Everyone's heading in the same direction, trust me," Eric responded bluntly.

Fez groaned, getting the attention of the room. "I cannot believe I am missing out on Fun-Land," he complained for the hundredth time that morning.

Fez's presence was needed at the Forman's house today. Red and Mrs. Forman were running intervention on Laurie and his marriage debacle. With the agents visit looming any day now, the couple needed to set their story straight and learn basic trivia about the other.

So, Fez would spend the rest of his day learning about Laurie's favorite color and weird habits, while the rest of the gang would be riding the Looney Coaster and eating fairy floss off of sticks.

"Sorry buddy," Kelso began to apologize as the rest of the gang stood up from their spots. "We'll bring you back a t-shirt or something," he offered, slapping a sympathetic hand over the guys shoulder.

"You will forget!" Fez groaned, standing up from the couch too. "I know! I'll just go with you guys and postpone with Laurie."

"Red will kick your ass if you postpone again," Eric reminded him.

"Fez, you and Laurie have been putting this off all week. Do you want to get deported?" Donna questioned Fez, placing her hands on his arms as she scolded him.

"No," Fez murmured back, keeping his head down low and avoiding Donna's angry gaze.

Hyde didn't blame him, Donna could get pretty scary sometimes.

"So, go up there and find out whether Laurie brushes her teeth with an electric toothbrush or a normal one!" Donna shouted back, motioning to the upstairs with one hand.

"Oh, I already know the answer to most bathroom related questions…" Fez pointed out and Hyde scrunched up his nose. "But I get the point. Okay fine, but you better not forget my t-shirt you son of a bitch!" He turned to shout at Kelso one last time.

"I wont man," Kelso assured him, shoving his hands in his pockets as he watched their friend head towards the interior staircase.

"What did Fez mean about already knowing the answers to the bathroom related questions?" Jackie asked Hyde in a quiet voice as they followed the rest of their friends out of the basement and up the stairs to the backyard.

Hyde frowned. "Uh, if there's a girl Fez really likes, or thinks is really hot… Or just any girl really. He kind of spies on em'," he told her, pushing his shades further up the bridge of his nose as the morning sun hit his face.

Jackie gasped. "Ew," she stated, and Hyde nodded. "Has he ever spied on me?" she wondered as the group began heading towards Forman's Vista Cruiser.

"No way," Hyde assured her, confidently. "He knows I'd kick his ass if he ever did," he added, wrapping an arm around Jackie's shoulders and pulling her into his body for half a hug.

Her arms wrapped around his torso. "My protector," she joked with a smile.

* * *

Just over an hour later the group arrived at Fun Land. Hyde walked through the gates, his arm still wrapped around Jackie with Eric and Donna hand-in-hand next to them and Kelso trail blazing a few feet in front of them.

"Hey Kelso!" Hyde shouted, getting his friends attention.

Kelso turned back around and walked back towards the group. "What Hyde? I wanna ride the Tilt-a-Whirl!" He complained, to full of energy for his own good.

"Kelso man, every-time we come here you get lost," Hyde reminded him sternly.

It was true, but not just for Fun Land, it seemed any time the group went anywhere Kelso wound up getting lost or venturing off never to be seen again until the end of the day or night. Hyde didn't normally care but the last time they'd came here, Kelso had wound up in the lost and found all day and Hyde had copped the blame when he returned home sans Michael Kelso.

"Do not!" Kelso whined back.

"Do too Kelso!" Donna and Eric responded back.

"Look just stick with us alright?" Hyde told him with a frown on his face. Man, he felt like Red right now and it wasn't a good feeling.

"And if you do get lost, just come to the entrance and we'll meet back up here?" Jackie added naively.

"You'd think it'd be that easy," Eric stated, looking over at Jackie. "Cept' this moron always forgets the meeting point!"

"I'll remember this time," Kelso assured them, but Hyde wasn't buying it and by the looks of Forman and Donna, neither were they.

"Just stick with us man," Hyde repeated with a sigh.

"Fine, but I'm going on the tilt-a-whirl!" Kelso exclaimed impatiently.

Hyde looked over at Eric expectedly. "Not it," he responded quickly. "Donna and I are going on the Love Tunnel," he added, turning to smile at his fiancée.

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Boo!"

"Okay so Steven and I will go with Kelso on the tilt-a-whirl," Jackie shrugged from next to Hyde, unknowingly becoming a traitor to him.

It's not that Hyde didn't like rides, he was something of a dare-devil after all. It was just that… Well the tilt-a-whirl was probably his least favorite ride ever and all that spinning was no good for him.

He'd done a lot of partying in his time and his balance was off.

"Yeah _Steven_," Donna repeated his first name back to him with a grin on her face. "Sounds like a plan… Have fun," she waved back at him before pulling Eric in the direction of the love tunnel and leaving him there with Kelso and Jackie.

"Son of a bitch," Hyde muttered to himself as Jackie began pulling on his hand to lead him off to his worst nightmare.

It was a lucky thing he hadn't eaten anything yet, otherwise she probably would have gotten more than she bargained for on that ride.

"Hurry up guys, your walking to slow!" Kelso shouted back at them a few minutes later.

He was at-least 10 feet ahead of them, weaving in and out of crowds as he eagerly headed towards the ride that was conveniently situated at the very back of the theme-park.

"Kelso, slow down!" Jackie shouted back.

As the group approached the ride, Hyde felt his throat close up and his hands become clammy. His stomach churned loudly when they got in line, but he was determined to hide his unnerve from Jackie.

Turns out he wasn't doing a very good job at it because after only a minute or so in line, Jackie turned to him with a worried look on her face and said, "Steven, are you okay?"

Before he had a chance to respond, Kelso was laughing. "He's just bugging over the ride. He's hated the tilt-a-Whirl ever since grade school… One time he hurled all over Patty Bachmann and then she threw her pop in his face."

Hyde glared over at Kelso as he continued to laugh at him. The Patty Bachmann incident was a freak occurrence, still didn't stop him from hearing about it a full 8 years after it happened. He reached out to frog Kelso over the arm, successfully getting him to shut up.

"Wait are you scared of rides?" Jackie questioned a moment later as the line moved up.

Hyde shook his head quickly. "Not scared of rides, just don't like this one," he told her.

Jackie giggled at him. "Well you've never been on the tilt-a-whirl with me before. Maybe you'll have fun?" She questioned innocently.

Hyde looked out over the ride, watching the cars spin around and around and slowly shook his head. "Doubtful doll," he told her truthfully.

"Just don't puke on any of us this time," Kelso suggested.

* * *

Meanwhile.  
The Forman's living room.

Fez was seated on one side of the Forman's yellow couch while Laurie sat on the opposite end. They had been here for over an hour now and so far, neither had learnt anything new or real about the other.

Fez had spent the first half an hour trying his hardest to get to know the Forman daughter, but after half an hour where none of his questions had been properly answered, he was ready to call it quits. So, they had spent the remaining 40 or so minutes sitting in an uncomfortable silence, pretending to watch the football game playing on the television in front of them.

The longer he sat there, with her ignoring his presence, the angrier Fez got.

He could have been with his friends right now at Fun Land having a much better time but instead he had chosen to stay here with his 'wife' and so far, she hadn't even asked him a single question about himself.

If they kept this up there was no way they would fool the immigration agent into thinking this marriage was for real and not just so that he could stay in the country. He couldn't understand why she was being so nonchalant about the situation they were in, if they were caught out by the immigration agent it wouldn't be just him who gets in-trouble, she could go to jail for helping him.

It irked him that she was refusing to take this seriously.

_Why does she never take anything in her life seriously?_

He suddenly turned to look at her, after 40 non-stop minutes of pretending she didn't exist. She was staring ahead at the TV, her blonde hair perfectly curled Farrah Fawcett style, her full lips coated with bubblegum pink lip-gloss, her long legs bare thanks to the short-shorts she was always wearing and a look on her face that made it abundantly clear that she was beyond bored in the moment.

Damn her for looking so perfect when he was so mad at her.

"Could you like stop staring at me perv? It's really starting to freak me out," Laurie spoke up suddenly, after a few minutes of him staring blankly in her direction.

Fez felt the anger rise up through his body until he could no longer keep his cool.

"Do not start me missy. Thanks to you I am going to be deported and you are going to end up in jail!" He exclaimed over-dramatically, letting off the steam that had been building up since he sat down on this couch with her earlier that afternoon.

Laurie just rolled her eyes back, keeping her cool like always. "And how is that going to be my fault?"

"We're supposed to be learning about each-other so that the agent will believe we are a real couple. You've been back for almost 2 weeks and this is the first time you have spoken to me and only because Mr. Red and Miss Kitty forced you to be here!" Fez exploded, turning his body in her direction. "It is like you want to go to jail…" He added after a moment's pause.

Laurie groaned loudly, turning her head in his direction and making eye contact with him for the first time since her return. "Obviously I don't want to go to jail dingus… Look, I don't know what you want from me, I married you so that you wouldn't have to go back to that sad pathetic country of yours and you weren't happy. I came home when you asked me to and you weren't happy, I'm here when you asked me to be here - even though I could have been on a date with the guy who owns a Mustang and you're still not happy!"

Fez frowned, trying to take in all that she had said. "I thought you said you didn't come home for me?" He questioned quickly.

Laurie sighed and shifted on the couch so that her body now faced his. "Well after the like 50th call I thought it was probably important…" She admitted to him in a quiet voice.

Fez didn't know what to say, her admission had taken him aback. He had hoped she had returned to Point Place for him but after their encounter at Vanstock and all the un-returned phone calls since, he'd given up hope.

Maybe she did care for him? If only a little.

"I thought you'd actually be happy to see me. Clearly, I was wrong there," she added nervously a minute later after he still hadn't responded to her.

Fez suddenly felt bad at how he'd been acting towards her over the passed few weeks. He shook his head in denial. "Laurie, I was happy to see you," he said, although he wasn't even sure himself if it was the truth or not, his feelings towards her had been pretty conflicted since their impromptu marriage all those months ago.

"Don't lie… I know what everyone thinks of me," she began, her voice oddly low and full of trepidation. "Eric thinks I'm the devil, Jackie can't stand me, Donna hates me… Even Hyde avoids me now and Mom and Dad only love me because they have too but even that's debatable."

Fez watched the normally confident blonde crumble in front of him and felt himself begin to feel bad for her. It was no wonder she was always running away if this was how she felt about the people who were supposed to be her family.

"Even you! You used to worship me and now you hate me too… I've ruined every relationship I've ever had and I'm going to ruin this as well… So, what's the point in even trying, you know?" She added, her eyes drifting from his down to her lap.

Fez shifted uncomfortably on the couch, scooting across to the middle of the three-seater so that he was closer to her. He'd never been in this position before, cheering up women wasn't exactly a skill he had in his wheel-house but he couldn't stand to see Laurie so sad.

Awkwardly he reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. She looked down at his hand with a frown but didn't yell at him to stop touching her, so he took it as a sign to continue.

"You aren't going to ruin this Laurie... We're going to pass this test and you want to know how I know that?" He said after clearing his throat.

She stared back at him blankly before indulging him. "How?"

"Because I already know you so much better than I did this morning… And I don't hate you, I could never hate you. You are a beautiful blonde Goddess and I am the luckiest man in the world to be married to you, even if it is a fake marriage."

Laurie rolled her eyes and pushed his hand off her shoulder. "Stop it Fez, before I barf."

"I'm serious," he told her watching as she peered back up at him.

He'd never been this open with her before and truthfully it scared him to death. She scared him to death but if this worked in getting her to smile again, then it was worth the fear of rejection.

There was an extended period of silence where he waited for her to respond, and an awkward air engulfed them. After a few minutes of silence, he couldn't take it anymore and decided to change the subject.

"What's your favorite color?"

It was the first question he had asked her an hour ago, which she'd responded to earlier by saying 'monkeys' sarcastically and throwing him a bad look. This time though, she smiled at him.

"It's red…" She admitted to him and he smiled back at her.

"See how easy that was?" He pointed out and watched as she shrugged back.

"What's yours?" She asked him back.

"Blue… Like the color of your eyes," he smiled brightly at her.

Laurie laughed, reaching behind her to grab the cushion she was resting on before hitting him with it. "Shut up you weirdo," she told him but the smile on her face proved to Fez he had said the right thing.

He hadn't lied… Blue was his favorite color and he couldn't help that her eyes were the prettiest shade of blue he'd ever seen.

In the moment, she had moved closer towards him on the couch so that they were now sitting directly next to each other. He grabbed the cushion out of her hand and paused to take in her beauty.

He'd always thought she was pretty but up-close she was more beautiful then he could have imagined.

He must have lingered too long because suddenly she was clearing her throat uncomfortable and looking away from him. He could have sworn he saw her cheeks turn red but as quick as the blush came, it was gone, and he had no proof of the telling bodily function.

"So, I guess if you wanted to ask me some more questions or something, that would be cool," she stated a moment later.

"And you will actually answer them this time?" He had to ask.

Laurie nodded. "I promise alright?"

Fez flashed her a smile and watched as she sat back into the couch, getting comfortable. He took a pause to think of a good question he could ask her.

"Did you really have a date today?" He questioned, suddenly recalling the small bit of information she had given him during her earlier emotional rant.

Laurie shrugged back. "He owns a Mustang and has one of those handle bar mustaches," she explained to him as if that was reason enough for a date.

Fez furrowed his brow, picturing the man she was explaining to him. "Wait… are you talking about Mr. Gruner from down the road? The high school vice principle?"

"Yeah!" Laurie nodded her head quickly with a smile.

"He's like 40!"

Laurie shrugged. "Hey, he's not married… Good enough for me."

* * *

Later that day.  
Fun Land.

"That was the house of mirrors? I have more mirrors in my purse," Jackie pointed out disappointedly as her and Hyde exited the fun house mirror maze.

"Yeah I don't doubt that," Hyde agreed, reaching out to grab hold of her hand and lacing their fingers together.

Jackie smiled and leaned into him as they walked together towards the next attraction. They had been at the park for a few hours now and as far as she was concerned, it was the best date she'd ever had. Made even better when they had managed to ditch Kelso with Eric and Donna over an hour ago.

It was fun being with him, always was but there was something different about him today. He'd been overtly nice to her, taking her on any of the rides she wanted to go on (including the Ferris-wheel and the love tunnel which he claimed were the girliest rides ever invented) and buying her funnel cake (with extra powdered sugar).

He'd even gotten her the plastic crown that she now wore on her head after she'd seen it in one of the gift shop windows. A few times he had even indulged her role-play and called her 'princess' (which she loved and secretly wished he'd continue once they got home).

She suspected that his sudden romantic acts were to cheer her up after her week from hell, sharing a room with Laurie Forman, and that she couldn't expect it to last much longer after today but for now she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Hyde asked her.

Jackie took a moment to think her options through, but it was the small row of carnival games to their right that caught her eye first."Oh, carnival games!" She exclaimed, tugging on his hand as she began to lead him in the right direction.

There were ring toss games, basketball games, water gun games and even the duck pond one. But it was the shooting gallery that stopped her in her tracks, hanging on the side of the tent next to the carni-operator hung the cutest pink teddy bear she had ever seen.

Not obnoxiously big like all the others she had seen, but small and petite just like her. Suddenly, she had to have it.

"Steven, can you win me that pink teddy bear?" She questioned sweetly, turning to face him and grabbing hold of both his hands in the process.

"Jackie you know these games are rigged right?" He responded but turned to study the target game anyway.

"All you gotta do is knock down 5 of these targets here… Simple as that boy," The carnie stepped forward and said to Hyde, who glared back at him.

"See, easy!" Jackie added with a big smile on her face.

"Jackie, these games are designed so you can't win," Hyde told her.

"Oh, that's just a myth!" She brushed off.

"No… It's a proven fact," he responded, looking down at her through the shades that covered his face.

She shrugged back at him, a smile still planted on her face because she knew how this was going to end, regardless of what he was currently saying.

"Come on now, how could you say no to that face?" The carnie suddenly said, looking over at Jackie.

She watched as Hyde flashed another dirty look at the carnie. "That's the problem man," she heard him say in a low voice before reaching a hand to the man and handing over a quarter.

Jackie squealed and leaned over to hug Hyde. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She cheered, clutching him in her arms as he took the fake shot-gun out of the Carnie's hands.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't go getting all watery eyed on me when I lose though," he told her, stepping up to the mark to take his first shot at one of the targets in front of him.

"I promise," Jackie agreed with a smile as she watched him raise the gun to eye level and aim his first shot.

He was trying to lower her expectations, but she believed in him and if anyone could beat the rigged game, she knew it would be him.

He had 7 shots to hit 5 of the targets and then the small pink teddy bear would be hers. His first shot hit the board behind the targets, missing by only an inch.

He cursed under his breath and aimed again, Jackie watched quietly from next to him struggling to contain the excitement that was building up inside of her. His second shot missed, but he'd gotten closer to the target than his first.

"Close but no cigar," the Carnie expressed annoyingly from the side line. "5 shots left to win the pretty girl a prize."

"Yeah I get it man," Hyde responded coldly before setting up his next shot.

He took his time and the next shot hit it's target by the edge. Jackie couldn't help the little squeal that escaped her lips, but Hyde barely responded, instead choosing to keep his focus on the targets in front of him.

Within the next minute he'd taken the remaining shots, landing each and everyone onto the targets. His last shot even hit the bullseye, even the carnie looked impressed.

Jackie jumped up and down, clapping her hands as she watched Hyde point to her prize.

"Sure, you don't want something bigger?" He asked her as the carnie handing him the pink teddy bear.

Jackie shook her head quickly. "No this is perfect. Pretty, pink and petite just like me," she smiled brightly as Hyde handed her the stuffed bear. "Thank you baby," she said before pulling him into a tight hug.

Hyde's arms wrapped around her, pulling her against his chest. She felt herself melt into his embrace and thought about how she never wanted today to end.

The day had started off like every other since Laurie had moved back, she'd been so wrapped up in fighting with the Forman daughter that she'd allowed it to take over ever other aspect of her life. But only a few hours spent with him and she'd forgotten all about her troubles, he'd managed to make her feel like the luckiest girl in the world (even if she was probably one of the unluckiest), just like he always did.

"Aw, look at this." Donna's voice broke the couple apart. Hyde's arms dropped from around Jackie's waist and she stepped away from him to see their friends approaching them.

"Hyde won Jackie a teddy bear that is so cute!" Donna continued, smiling widely at Hyde.

"Hyde you are like the best boyfriend ever!" Eric exclaimed in a girly voice, making fun of Hyde.

"Would you two get bent," Hyde responded with an annoyed look on his face.

Jackie clutched her teddy in one arm, while wrapping the other around Hyde's back and snuggling into his side. Donna and Eric loved given him crap about his relationship with her, but she loved the softer side he showed only to her and worried their taunts would eventually make that side of him disappear.

She felt him relax into her and breathed a small sigh of relief when his arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"Hey maybe I should try win Brooke one of those!" Kelso suddenly expressed, changing the subject off of them.

"That would be really nice of you Michael," Jackie told him.

"Yeah and everyone knows that chicks put out if you win them a giant stuffed bear!" Kelso added with a big grin on his face before turning to the shooting booth to play his turn of the carnival game.

"this'll be good," Hyde whispered in her ear, squeezing her arm lightly and turning them so that they could watch their friend try and win a giant purple rhinoceros.

They spent the next half an hour at the booth, watching Kelso fail over and over again before he finally hit all 5 targets to win his prize. The remainder of the day was spent together as a group, riding the roller coaster and the ghost train, pigging out on fairy floss and curly fries and laughing, so much laughing.

Before she knew it, night had rolled around, and the park was closing. They were heading back home in the vista cruiser, Donna and Eric snuggled up in the front seat and Hyde's arm around Jackie in the back. Kelso sat happily beside them with chocolate ice cream on his face.

Her life might have been the furthest thing from perfect but in that moment, there was no-where else she wanted to be. She fell asleep 5 minutes into the ride home, resting her head on Hyde's chest, content and happier then she'd ever been.

* * *

**Hi guys! Sorry for the long wait, been a crazy time but I thought we could all use something to lighten the mood during these strange times. I hope you enjoy the new chapter and I hope everyone is healthy and being safe! **


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